THE EFFECT OF MALNUTRITION ON BODY-COMPOSITION

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  • 1 January 1981
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 152  (1) , 22-26
Abstract
The effect of malnutrition upon body composition was evaluated by determining body composition using multiple isotope dilution in 25 normal volunteers, in 75 patients with clinical malnutrition and in 20 patients who underwent and elective operative procedure of moderate severity. Malnutrition resulted in a loss of body cell mass, accompanied by an expansion of the extracellular mass. In the patients with clinically obvious malnutrition the size of the body cell mass was reduced to 60% normal, while the extracellular mass was 24% more than normal. By the 5th day following an uncomplicated extensive operation, the body cell mass was reduced by 13.9%, while the extracellular mass was increased by 9.6%. The expansion of the extracellar mass obscures the loss of body cell mass and weight loss does not accurately reflect the loss of cellular mass.