Network Health Dietitians July 08 Issue 36

Dietitians Association of Australia
with Claire Hewat
Accredited Practising Dietitian
Executive Director of the Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA)
Study shows Locusts may provide the key
malnutrition is often to obesity
overlooked
Locusts may appear to have little to do with
Australia’s obesity epidemic, but research into
One in three elderly hospital pa-
what drives the appetite of these pests is pro-
tients suffer from malnutrition, but
viding clues as to why so many humans may be
go largely unnoticed by hospital
overweight or obese.
staff, Australian research has re-
vealed.
According to research by Professor Ste- weight was clear
The study, in the journal Nutrition
phen Simpson of the University of Syd- – unless the excess
& Dietetics published by Wiley-Black-
ney, locusts keep eating until they take fat and carbohydrate eaten to get
well, found risk factors for malnutrition,
in enough protein. He also says humans to this target amount of protein are
such as recent weight loss and poor
could be doing the same which may burnt up, weight will increase.
appetite, were being overlooked,
explain the obesity crisis. ‘These days, energy-rich manu-
and malnourished patients were not
‘If you feed locusts a low-protein, factured foods are everywhere. They
being referred to dietitians.
high-carbohydrate diet they will gorge are usually lower in protein, and have
Of the 100 patients involved in the
themselves until they reach their more fat and carbohydrate. So get-
study at Melbourne’s St Vincent’s
‘protein target’. So they over-eat car- ting to your target amount of protein
hospital, 91 were either malnourished
bohydrate and fat in an effort to get often means you eat too much fat
or at risk of malnutrition. While 73 of
enough protein,’ said Professor Simp- and reﬁ ned carbohydrates in the
these patients had recent weight loss
son. process,’ said Professor Simpson.
and loss of appetite, only seven were
And he said the effect on body
identiﬁ ed and referred to a dietitian,
and only three had their weight re-
Licence to snack: study ﬁ nds eating frequency
corded in their medical chart.
Study co-author and Accredited
is not the way to weight loss
Practising Dietitian (APD) Alison Bowie
Eating more often than three meals a day does not assist with weight
said: ‘Malnourished patients are
loss, new Australian research suggests.
more susceptible to infections and
complications, tend to spend longer
The study found no difference in Many people ﬁ nd it hard enough to
in hospital, and are at a greater risk
weight, waist measurement, body stick to a healthy eating plan to lose
of their health deteriorating. Hospi-
fatness or blood sugar levels between weight, let alone worrying about any
tals need to get better at identifying
people who ate three meals a day, suggested beneﬁ ts of snacking or not
at-risk patients early on, and referring
and those who ate three meals and snacking.
them to an APD for treatment.’
three snacks while trying to lose weight. ‘It’s not when you eat that matters,
Dietitians Association of Austra-
‘There seems to be little beneﬁ t to but what and how much you eat,’ said
lia (DAA) Executive Director Claire
changing how often or how regularly lead author and Accredited Practising
Hewat said malnutrition was rife in
you eat if you’re trying to lose weight. Dietitian Michelle Palmer.
hospitals, but also affected people in
the wider community, including those
‘Time costs’ affect women’s food choice
in nursing homes.
Women may eat less healthy food if they’re short of time and not con-
‘In dealing with the obesity crisis,
ﬁ dent in the kitchen, according to a new Deakin University study which
the silent epidemic of malnutrition has
been largely forgotten, but we’ve
looked at the food choices of women on lower incomes.
made tackling malnutrition a priority.
The study found that low income ﬁ nancial costs, such as cooking skills,
Our dietitian members are working
women think preparing healthy food nutrition knowledge, time, and percep-
on guidelines to better manage the
takes too much time, and have trouble tions of value for money also affect
condition, and programs to educate
convincing their families to eat well, food choice, and these have been less
health professionals on screening for
which may lead them to choose less well studied,’ said lead researcher Dr
malnutrition and when to refer a pa-
healthy foods and put them at risk of Victoria Inglis.
tient to an APD,’ said Ms Hewat.
poor health. The researchers surveyed 725 wom-
This paper is published in June 2008,
‘We already know that the per- en, aged 18 to 65 years, from different
Nutrition and Dietetics. Media wishing
ceived high cost of healthy foods is socioeconomic groups, on whether
to receive a PDF or schedule media
a barrier to healthy eating among they thought more time and knowledge
interviews with the authors should con-
women on lower incomes. But non- was needed to eat a healthy diet.
tact Alina Boey, PR & Communica-
tions Manager Asia at aboey@wiley.
com.sg or phone 65-96565580.
For more information visit www.daa.asn.au
NHDmag.com July ‘08 - issue 36 13
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