A pioneering research team has been set up by the University of Southampton to identify those at risk and to develop effective low-cost ways of preventing and curing malnutrition in both the community and hospitals. It is hoped the research programs will provide the basis for a national program.

Consultant gastroenterologist Dr. Mike Stroud leads the new Clinical Nutrition Research and Development (CNRD) team that has received a £194,500 grant from the UK Department of Health.

He said: "You are what you eat. Obesity is one of the biggest concerns in medicine but we should not forget that a significant proportion of people in this country is under-nourished and this places a huge demand on health care services.

"Some people are obviously very thin. Many others look fine but are under-nourished in terms of vitamins because they are not getting enough nutrient rich foods.

"The problem today is we consume 700 calories a day less than we did 30 or 40 years ago but lead much less active lives. The quality of food is also not as good which means it is harder to extricate the necessary vitamins and minerals."

Malnutrition is much more common in the UK than people think, especially among the elderly. Some five per cent of adults are defined as malnourished and that figure rises to a massive 40 per cent of hospital patients. This group is three times more likely to suffer major complications and four times more likely to die.

Research shows clearly that targeted nutritional intervention reduces illness in the community and, in hospital, decreases complications, length of stay and mortality. But little has so far been done to translate the research findings into practical clinical services.

The Southampton team initially hopes to set up a study in primary care and nursing homes to see if improving the diet of elderly people can reduce hospital admission rates. It also wants to test out the benefits of dietary supplements for identified nutrient-deficient hospital patients.

Dr. Stroud, Senior Lecturer at the University Institute of Human Nutrition, added: "Nutrition influences whether you get disease and also your capacity to cope with sickness or injury. Once in hospital, illness causes or worsens malnourishment leading to poor wound healing, impaired immunity, muscle strength and psychological drive.

"As a result undernutrition is often a limiting factor in a patient's ability to benefit optimally from modern medical and surgical interventions.

"If you can improve the nutritional state of people living in the community you might be able to stop them from becoming ill and then needing hospital admission.

"If you can also identify people who are malnourished when they come into hospital you could give them vitamins after surgery, and on discharge. This may speed up their post-operative recovery and mean they enjoy a quicker return to a healthy life."

[Contact: Kim d'Arcy]

28-Mar-2001