Nursing Diagnosis for Imbalanced Nutrition : Less than Body Requirements
Definition: Intake of nutrients insufficient to meet metabolic needs
Adequate nutrition is necessary to meet the body’s demands. Nutritional status can be affected by disease or injury states (e.g., gastrointestinal [GI] malabsorption, cancer, burns); physical factors (e.g., muscle weakness, poor dentition, activity intolerance, pain, substance abuse); social factors (e.g., lack of financial resources to obtain nutritious foods); or psychological factors (e.g., depression, boredom). During times of illness (e.g., trauma, surgery, sepsis, burns), adequate nutrition plays an important role in healing and recovery. Cultural and religious factors strongly affect the food habits of patients. Women exhibit a higher incidence of voluntary restriction of food intake secondary to anorexia, bulimia, and self-constructed fad dieting. Patients who are elderly likewise experience problems in nutrition related to lack of financial resources, cognitive impairments causing them to forget to eat, physical limitations that interfere with preparing food, deterioration of their sense of taste and smell, reduction of gastric secretion that accompanies aging and interferes with digestion, and social isolation and boredom that cause a lack of interest in eating. This care plan addresses general concerns related to nutritional deficits for the hospital or home setting.
Defining Characteristics:
- Loss of weight with or without adequate caloric intake
- 10% to 20% below ideal body weight
- Documented inadequate caloric intake
Related Factors:
- Inability to ingest foods
- Inability to digest foods
- Inability to absorb or metabolize foods
- Inability to procure adequate amounts of food
- Knowledge deficit
- Unwillingness to eat
- Increased metabolic needs caused by disease process or therapy
Expected Outcomes
- Patient or caregiver verbalizes and demonstrates selection of foods or meals that will achieve a cessation of weight loss.
- Patient weighs within 10% of ideal body weight.
