Alarming levels of malnutrition have been recorded in Britain.

Junk food nation - Independent on Sunday

Extract:

"3.6 million people in Britain suffer from malnutrition. Hospitals see 44% rise in cases as cost to the NHS hits £7.3bn ."

"Alarming levels of malnutrition have been recorded in Britain, The Independent on Sunday has learned, prompting further medical concern at the effects of the nation's addiction to salty, fatty, junk food.

Despite high-profile campaigns by the Government and celebrity chefs to improve eating habits, new figures reveal that there has been a 44 per cent increase in hospital cases of malnutrition over the past five years.

Amid estimates that up to 3.6 million people are suffering from malnutrition, including conditions found in sub-Saharan Africa, MPs and doctors last night called for action to tackle poor diets, and for all patients to be screened for malnutrition. They called for the Government's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) guidelines to be made compulsory.

In 2002, 2,729 people in English hospitals were diagnosed with malnutrition. Last year, the number had risen to 3,931.

The British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition estimates malnutrition costs the NHS more than £7.3bn a year, double the annual obesity bill. Doctors estimate that up to 6 per cent of the population could be suffering from malnutrition and serious vitamin and mineral deficiencies caused by poor diet. Most do not have their conditions identified.

Experts said a reliance on pre-prepared food and failure to eat enough fresh fruit and vegetables is depleting levels of essential micro-nutrients. The deficiencies are found in teenagers, the elderly, adults and babies as young as 18 months. They warn the balance of nutrients is also disturbed by binge drinking, excess sugar and drug use."

Obviously a great deal of lasting harm has been done by years of junk food lunches provided as school meals for many years and only in recent years, and patchily, beginning to be improved. There is also the continuing harm done by poor hospital food provision (and that of other institutions) and failure to ensure that patients can actually eat the food provided, for example when they are too ill or frail or disabled actually to open a packet of sandwiches and no member of staff opens it for them - just removes it and throws it away uneaten...)o:

Overwhelmingly, great and lasting harm is done by dieting, yet the government's agencies and obesity 'experts' continue to advise obese people to diet/eat less, even though this is well known to be ineffective in reducing obesity. - Obese people should be told the truth: that to lose excess weight they should not eat less food, only less salt.

And the MASSIVE harm done by the over-prescribing of drugs by negligent doctors may well be the major cause of malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency in older adults.

Lose weight by eating less salt! Go on! - Try it! - You will feel so much better!
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