Nutrition support for adults: oral nutrition support, enteral tube feeding and parenteral nutrition

Recognising people who are malnourished

Your healthcare professional can help you manage your diet to ensure your body has enough nutrients. They will look for any signs that you are malnourished when you register at your GP surgery, attend routine check-ups or when you attend an appointment at the hospital. You should also be checked when you are admitted into hospital or a care home.

If you have suddenly lost a lot of weight or your general health has changed you may be checked again. Your healthcare professional should check whenever a change in your health indicates you are not getting enough nutrients.

Healthcare professionals should also be looking out for people who are at risk of becoming malnourished. For example, you could become malnourished if you have eaten little or nothing in the past 5 days or you are unlikely to eat very much in the next 5 days. This could be because you are very ill and unable to eat.