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Nutrition and Immunology pp 3–13Cite as

Application and Interpretation of Commonly Used Nutritional Assessment Techniques

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Abstract

Nutritional assessment can be defined as the collection and interpretation of information on tissue nutrient reserves (i.e., nutritional status), dietary factors that affect these reserves, and health and functional performance in relation to these nutrient stores. Whereas direct or indirect measurements of tissue nutrient reserves can be considered as true indicators of nutritional status, dietary intake data reflect only the likelihood of low (or high) intake and the consequent risk of undernutrition (or overnutrition). Thus, dietary data are not indicators of nutritional status per se. For example, dietary intake may appear to be “inadequate” relative to theoretical nutrient requirements, but nutritional status may still be satisfactory if the individual’s actual requirements are low, the nutrient can be stored in the body and previous intake had been sufficient, or supplements or other sources of nutrients are consumed in addition to the diet. On the other hand, dietary intake may appear to be “adequate,” yet nutritional status may be depleted if an individual’s actual requirements are relatively high, malabsorption is present, or other nutrients, food components, or drugs interfere with nutrient utilization. Thus, other nutritional assessment techniques must be combined with dietary measurements to provide information on current nutritional status.

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Authors
  1. Kenneth H. Brown MD
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Rheumatology/Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, USA

    M. Eric Gershwin MD

  2. Department of Food Science and Technology, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, USA

    J. Bruce German PhD

  3. Department of Nutrition, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, USA

    Carl L. Keen PhD

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Brown, K.H. (2000). Application and Interpretation of Commonly Used Nutritional Assessment Techniques. In: Gershwin, M.E., German, J.B., Keen, C.L. (eds) Nutrition and Immunology. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-709-3_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-709-3_1

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-61737-148-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-709-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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