| ASSESSMENT OF NUTRITIONAL STATUS
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| Figure 21.5 Regulation of food intake. The regulation of food intake is accomplished by signals generated in the adipose tissue, pancreas, stomach and brain.The (+) sign means action leading to increase of appetite and food intake, and the sign (-), to a decrease. |
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| NUTRITIONAL NEEDS AND EMERGENCY TREATMENT |
| Eating and drinking, like breathing, are major routes that connect living organisms with environment. To function we need oxygen, water and nutrients. One can exist without oxygen for minutes only. Without water the survival time is days. With these two supplied, a human being can survive without food for between 60 and 90 days. Importantly, these considerations also determine the urgency of treatment when things go wrong. Thus, re-establishment of the oxygen supply and circulating volume (necessary for adequate oxygen delivery to the tissues) are required right away (Chapter 4). Repletion of lost fluid and electrolytes is also necessary within hours to days, depending on a state of the patient (Chapter 22). Provision of other nutrients is important as soon as the life-saving actions have been taken. |
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Table 21-5.
Classification of nutritional status based on the body mass index (BMI). |
| Body_ID: None |
| Body mass index (BMI) and nutritional status |
| Body_ID: T021005.50 |
| BMI | Interpretation |
| Body_ID: T021005.100 |
| <18.5 | malnourished |
| Body_ID: T021005.150 |
| 18.5-20 | underweight |
| Body_ID: T021005.200 |
| 21-25 | desirable |
| Body_ID: T021005.250 |
| 26-30 | overweight |
| Body_ID: T021005.300 |
| >30 | obese |
| Body_ID: T021005.350 |
| Nutritional assessment includes clinical assessment of the state of nutrition together with the assessment of dietary habits; it includes dietary history, a range of body (anthropometric) measurements, and biochemical and haematological laboratory tests. Nutritional assessment may be carried out either in the community for public health purposes, or in hospitals and outpatient clinics to determine nutritional needs of individual patients. It is important to remember that
there is no single definitive marker of the nutritional state. Therefore, nutritional assessment relies on the interpretation of a range of variables.
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