Malnutrition is a health condition that occurs if an individual diet lacks the appropriate amount of nutrients. It is estimated that within the United Kingdom more than three million people suffer from malnutrition(Elia,2006,pp.576-578) Malnutrition is basically used to refer to exposure to poor nutrition which can be as a result of under nutrition or over nutrition. Over-nutrition is a situation whereby one gets more nutrition than required while under nutrition refers to a situation that one lacks adequate nutrition. The population affected by malnutrition within the UK is of concern given that the country has invested a lot on its health system (Kuper, H., Nyapera, Evans, Munyendo and Zuurmond,2015,pp.9)
It is approximated that for every three people admitted in hospital or a home care facility within United Kingdom on is likely to be in the malnourished or in the danger of malnourished. The major cause of malnourishment emanates from the eating habits of individuals and on some occasion due to poor absorption of nutrients by individuals bodies. Surprisingly even with adequate access to food individuals may be exposed to malnutrition (Khalatbari-Soltani, and Marques-Vidal, 2015,pp.94). The secret that can be passed to these individuals is to ensure that they eat balanced diet which is essential in preventing malnutrition. It is concerning that even with a great number of capable nutrition and information on health being available across the United Kingdom its population still suffers from malnutrition.
Despite the lack of political will in concerning malnutrition in the UK it is evident that the issue is becoming of concern especially to organizations offering social care services. Those politicians who have been willing to discuss the issues of malnutrition have appeared to be more aligned to obesity. Their actions have met criticism from different interest groups who have often worked to ensure that malnutrition concerns are addressed fully (Feasey, Everett &Roca-Feltrer,2015,pp.9). Due to the current pressure it is evident that policy makers will be willing to prioritize malnutrition as a major health concern with the United Kingdom.
Though the British Dietetic Association has given direction that can help raise profiles concerning malnutrition among health professionals the concerns are yet to materialize. Many people do not view malnutrition as a major issue of concern which can be due to the fact that the country is well ranked in terms of food security (Lamb, Parr, Lamb, and Warren,2009,pp.571-575). Availing easy to read materials that can be utilized across the population divide even by those with learning disability can be a workable effort towards sensitizing individuals on the advances. Provision of such information can work towards ensuring that every individual with the population is evident.
Efforts to make malnutrition an issue of concern are essential since they can work towards eliminating malnutrition. Initiating campaigns is one way that will work to comprehend efforts put forward by health care services to portray the real picture of malnutrition within the United Kingdom( Edington &Boorman, , 2000,pp.191-19).. Unless such action is taken malnutrition will continue to affect many individuals within the countrys population in silence. The campaigns can help trigger sympathy from law makers who are essential in implementing policies that can help control malnutrition.
Malnutrition is life threatening since it exposes individuals within a population to various diseases that could be prevented if concerns on good diet a prioritized (Mehta, 2015, pp.34). It is alarming to argue that malnutrition is not an issue of concern within the United Kingdom while more than three million people are affected. It is in my view that given the discussed instances malnutrition should remain a priority across United Kingdom health cycles.
List of references
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Elia, M., 2015. The cost of malnutrition in England and potential cost savings from nutritional interventions (full report).Elia, M., 2006. Nutrition and health economics. Nutrition, 22(5), pp.576-578.Feasey, N.A., Everett, D., Faragher, E.B., Roca-Feltrer, A., Kangombe, A., Denis, B., Kerac, M., Molyneux, E., Molyneux, M., Jahn, A. and Gordon, M.A., 2015. Modelling the contributions of malaria, HIV, malnutrition and rainfall to the decline in paediatric invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella disease in Malawi. PLoS Negl Trop Dis, 9(7), p.e0003979.
Khalatbari-Soltani, S. and Marques-Vidal, P., 2015. The economic cost of hospital malnutrition in Europe; a narrative review. Clinical Nutrition ESPEN, 10(3), pp.e89-e94.5.Lamb, C.A., Parr, J., Lamb, E.I. and Warren, M.D., 2009. Adult malnutrition screening, prevalence and management in a United Kingdom hospital: cross-sectional study. British journal of nutrition, 102(04), pp.571-575.
Kuper, H., Nyapera, V., Evans, J., Munyendo, D., Zuurmond, M., Frison, S., Mwenda, V., Otieno, D. and Kisia, J., 2015. Malnutrition and Childhood Disability in Turkana, Kenya: Results from a Case-Control Study. PloS one, 10(12), p.e0144926.Mehta, S., 2015. Research priorities to improve the management of acute malnutrition in infants aged less than six months (MAMI).
Slee, A., Birch, D. and Stokoe, D., 2015. Bioelectrical impedance vector analysis, phase-angle assessment and relationship with malnutrition risk in a cohort of frail older hospital patients in the United Kingdom. Nutrition, 31(1), pp.132-137.Rahman, A., Wu, T., Bricknell, R., Muqtadir, Z. and Armstrong, D., 2015. Malnutrition Matters in Canadian Hospitalized Patients Malnutrition Risk in Hospitalized Patients in a Tertiary Care Center Using the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool. Nutrition in Clinical Practice, 30(5), pp.709-713.Elia, M., 2006. Nutrition and health economics. Nutrition, 22(5), pp.576-578.
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