While the obesity epidemic is debated by the media on an almost daily basis, and public health policy increasingly seeks to encourage people to eat less, people that are underweight often go unnoticed, says Professor Marinos Elia, author of the new report.
"This is the first formal evaluation of the costs of undernutrition," he told NutraIngredients.com.
Malnutrition can be defined as a deficiency, excess or imbalance of nutrients that causes adverse effects on wellbeing and body function. It mostly affects elderly people and often co-exists with disease, in turn common as we age.
For the purpose of the study, Elia's team excluded excessive nutrients and obesity, except where an overweight person was losing weight unintentionally.
The report, published by BAPEN (the British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition), found that treating this undernourishment in hospitals, care facilities, GP's clinics and in the community cost the UK more than £7.3 billion each year, more than double the £3.5 billion estimated to be the cost of obesity by the government.
"Yet it receives no government policy focus and no allocation of resources in secondary or primary health care," said Professor Elia.
"Around 30 per cent of patients in hospitals and nursing homes are clinically malnourished and more than 10 per cent of individuals aged over 65 years in the community are malnourished - over 3 million are estimated to be suffering from malnutrition at any one time," added Professor Elia.
Malnourished individuals stay in hospital longer, succumb to infection more often, visit their GP on more occasions and require longer-term care and more intensive nursing care than individuals who are adequately nourished, accounting for an estimated additional cost of £5.3 billion.
He said that the elderly need to be screened for malnutrition upon entering hospital so that appropriate nutritional treatment and a care plan can be provided.
The report also examines retrospectively studies of the use of oral nutritional supplements in hospital concluding that whilst more research is required, there is clear evidence of benefit for sub-sets of patients, such as those undergoing abdominal surgery.
"Resources must be made available for the training of health and care staff in all settings so that malnourished patients and residents are identified and appropriate treatment and support provided," added Professor Elia.