A Descriptive Study of Malnutrition in Traumatic Brain Injury Patients

Abstract

Nutrition The World Health Organization (WHO) defines nutrition as the intake of food in relation to the body’s dietary needs: however, if the body’s nutritional needs are not met, either overnourishment or undernourishment/malnutrition develops.6 Malnutrition is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of <18.5 kg/m2, or unintentional weight loss (mandatory) with an associated reduction in BMI or a low-fat free mass index (FFMI). Weight loss can be defined as either >10% of habitual weight loss over an indefinite period or >5% over 3 months.7 An all-encompassing In t r o d u c t I o n