Malnutrition occurs more often in the elderly, but not only

Malnutrition is a health issue of global dimension, which also affects developed countries. Population subgroups at risk of malnutrition include hospitalised adults, older adults, adults with a poor mental health status, patients with one or more medical condition, etc.

In the elderly, there are many factors that cause people to become malnourished: loss of appetite, difficulties with eating (preparing or cutting up food), chewing (e.g. ill-fitting dentures, dry mouth) and/or swallowing (dysphagia), smell and taste reduction, and other medical conditions that cause nutrient malabsorption or a person to eat less. The risks of malnutrition are serious and include an increased chance of infection, slower recovery from illness or injury and overall increased mortality. A systematic screening and the use of individualised nutritional support, including Oral Nutritional Supplements (ONS) were demonstrated to improve energy and protein intake and significantly reduce mortality and complication rates in malnourished medical inpatients.

Malnutrition is also one of the most common and most serious side effects of cancer and its treatment. The prevalence of malnutrition in cancer patients ranges from about 20% to more than 70%. However, 10–20% of cancer patients’ deaths are related to malnutrition, not the malignancy itself. To prevent weight loss, improve the patients’ quality of life, reduce the treatment toxicity, and the risk of mortality, the diagnosis and screening of malnutrition should be made as early as possible to facilitate the best possible treatment.

When faced with the risk of nutritional deficiency during childhood, intervention is advised to support and maximize a child’s full potential. Oral nutritional supplements can help children catch up: improve body weight, growth and development. NUTREN® Junior has been scientifically designed to help a child get back and stay on track to reach full potential.

Our wide range and delicious oral nutritional supplements —NUTREN®, BOOST, — are ideally placed to fulfil the needs of individuals with (risk of) malnutrition and deliver the clinical and economic benefits associated with ONS use.

Our teams take malnutrition seriously and are actively involved in finding and delivering nutritional therapies to all patients.