How To Define And Diagnose Malnutrition In Obese Patients?

Undernutrition in the obese patient, like the non-obese patient, has numerous clinical consequences and leads to an increase in morbidity and mortality, but it is still underestimated. It is therefore imperative to prevent, detect and manage it as early as possible especially in patients at risk or weakened by a chronic disease. However, the definition and diagnostic criteria for undernutrition in non-obese adult subjects are flawed due to the clinical, morphological and biological characteristics associated with excessive adiposity. In an area where there is no consensus, the aim of this review is to highlight the difficulties in assessing undernutrition in this circumstance and to clarify the parameters of undernutrition assessment and their limits in the situation of obesity. (C) 2017 Association pour le developpement de la recherche en nutrition (ADREN). Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.