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. 2023 May 15;15(10):2315.
doi: 10.3390/nu15102315.

Exploring Overnutrition, Overweight, and Obesity in the Hospital Setting-A Point Prevalence Study

Andrea Elliott  1   2 , Simone Gibson  1 , Judy Bauer  1 , Anna Cardamis  2 , Zoe Davidson  1
Affiliations

Exploring Overnutrition, Overweight, and Obesity in the Hospital Setting-A Point Prevalence Study

Andrea Elliott et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Malnutrition is an international healthcare concern associated with poor patient outcomes, increased length of stay, and healthcare costs. Although malnutrition includes both under and overnutrition, there is a large body of evidence that describes the impacts of undernutrition with limited data on overnutrition in hospitalized patients. Obesity itself is a modifiable risk factor associated with hospital-associated complications. However, there is limited reporting of the prevalence of obesity in hospitals. This one-day cross-sectional study (n = 513) captures the prevalence of both under and overnutrition in a hospitalized population and explores dietetic care provided compared to the Nutrition Care Process Model for hospitalized patients who have obesity. The main findings were: (1) the largest proportion of patients were in the overweight and obese classifications (57.3%, n = 294/513); 5.3% of these patients had severe obesity (class III); (2) patients who were overweight and obese had lower malnutrition risk profiles as well as the prevalence of malnutrition; (3) 24.1% of patients who had obesity (n = 34/141) were receiving dietetic intervention; (4) 70.6% (n = 24/34) did not have a nutrition diagnosis that followed the Nutrition Care Process Model. Study results provide valuable clinical insight into the prevalence of overnutrition and opportunities to improve nutrition care for this vulnerable patient group.

Keywords: hospital nutrition care; malnutrition; obesity; overnutrition.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Classification of nutrition diagnosis by diagnosis domains of patients who had obesity and were receiving dietetic care.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of study sample vs. Victoria and Australia population norms by classification of weight status by BMI category, adults > 18 years. Adapted with permission from Australian Institute of Health and Welfare material Ref. [20]. 2022, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Copyright ©.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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