section name header

Box 9-2

Determine Your Nutritional Health Nutritional Risk Assessment

The Nutrition Screening Initiative (NSI), developed by the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Dietetic Association to promote the integration of nutrition screening and intervention into health care for older adults (Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services, 2010), identified the following warning signs and created a checklist based on these warning signs:

The Warning Signs of Poor Nutrition:

  • Disease

  • Eating poorly

  • Tooth loss/mouth pain

  • Economic hardship

  • Reduced social contact

  • Multiple medicines

  • Involuntary weight loss/gain

  • Needs assistance in self-care

  • Elder years above age 80

The following checklist based on these warning signs may be used to find out if your client is at nutritional risk. Read the following statements. Circle the number in the "yes" column for those that apply to the client. For each "yes" answer, score the number in the box. Total the nutrition score.

YES
  • Illness or condition that made client change the kind and/or amount of food eaten
2
  • Eats fewer than two meals per day
3
  • Eats few fruits or vegetables, or milk products
2
  • Has three or more drinks of beer, liquor, or wine almost every day
2
  • Tooth or mouth problems that make it hard to eat
2
  • Does not always have enough money to buy the food needed
4
  • Eats alone most of the time
1
  • Takes three or more different prescribed or over-the-counter drugs a day
1
  • Without wanting to, has lost or gained 10 lb in the past 6 months
2
  • Not physically able to shop, cook, and/or feed self
2

TOTAL

Total the nutritional score.

0-2 Good. Recheck the score in 6 months.

3-5 Moderate nutritional risk. See what can be done to improve eating habits and lifestyle. Recheck score in 3 months.

6 or more High nutritional risk. Consult with physician, dietician, or other qualified health or social service professional.

Note: Remember that warning signs suggest risk but do not represent diagnosis of any condition.

Reprinted from Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services. (2010). DETERMINE your Nutritional Health: Nutrition Screening Initiative (NSI). https://hhs.texas.gov/sites/default/files/documents/doing-business-with-hhs/providers/health/nra.pdf