§ Mr. Alan SimpsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were classified as suffering from malnutrition in(a) 1970, (b) 1980, (c) 1990 and (d) 1998. [101372]
§ Yvette CooperThe number of admissions to National Health Service hospitals in England with a diagnosis of malnutrition was 3,581 for the financial year 1989–90 and 6,293 for the financial year 1997–98. Figures are not available on a comparable basis for the earlier years.
Research studies have shown that 40 per cent. of adults patients and 15 per cent. of children are malnourished on admission to hospital, indicating that prevalence in the general population may be higher than the admissions figures suggest.
The Government's National Diet and Nutrition Survey programme monitors the diet and nutritional status of the population of Great Britain and has shown that while most people are adequately nourished, there has been a persistent rise in obesity. In 1997, the Health Survey for England showed that 17 per cent. of men and 20 per cent. of women in England were obese compared to 6 per cent. and 8 per cent. of those studied in the earliest previous study in 1980.