I recently went on a visit to a local hospital Dietetics department and I was shocked by the statistics that the Dietitians there quoted regarding the prevalence of malnutrition in the UK and how much this costs the NHS. While the NHS spends circa £5 billion pounds per annum treating obesity, the cost of treating malnutrition was £13 billion (BDA press release, 2009).

 

Malnutrition is a massive hidden problem in the UK and one that rarely gets a mention in the media. Last year the British Dietetic Association published further research which suggested that around 1,000,000 (one million) older people in the UKeat less than one square meal a day. This figure did not include those older people in hospital or in a care home: the people affected are those as the BDA points out," older people living in our community or, as they have become, the ‘invisible’ population."

We would all like to believe that Malnutrition doesn't happen in the UK: most of us probably assume that malnutrition is a third world problem.  The BDA wants to draw the attention of the government and the general public to the fact that its a problem in the UK. They have set up an online petition - you can access it  here : they are trying to obtain enough signatures to get the issue debated in parliament. Please take a moment to sign the petition and pass it onto as many friends, family & colleagues as possible.