Background:

Incidence of hospital malnutrition – Malnutrition is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, especially among older adults. Evidence suggests that 20% to 50% of all patients are at risk for or are malnourished at the time of hospital admission [1] and yet a recent study shows that only 7 percent of patients are typically diagnosed with malnutrition during their hospital stay, leading to millions of cases left undiagnosed and potentially untreated [2]. Up to 31% of these malnourished patients and 38% of well-nourished patients experience nutritional decline during their hospital stay [3]. Significantly, many patients continue to lose weight after discharge, and patients with weight loss are at increased risk for readmission, [4] with data demonstrating that malnourished hospitalized adults have 54% higher likelihood of hospital 30-day readmissions than those who are well nourished [5]. Malnutrition is the inadequate intake of nutrients, particularly protein, over time and may contribute to chronic illness and acute disease or illness and infection. People can be underweight or overweight (obese) and malnourished when they lack sufficient nutrients needed to promote healing, rehabilitation, and reduce the risk of medical complications. Malnutrition and weight loss can also contribute to sarcopenia, the age-associated loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, which can impact recovery, mobility, and Independence [6]. Since malnutrition impacts almost all quality indicators in hospital settings therefore, it becomes imperative to study prevalence of hospital malnutrition in underdeveloped regions of the world. Till todate very few studies were conducted on hospital malnutrition and its impacts on outcomes but these studies were mostly in US.UK or developed countries in Europe. We intend generate data base by initiating this long term research project that will culminate in designing strategies for mitigating this challenge. The first phase will focus on findings related to prevalence of hospital malnutrition.