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Cachexia and Wasting: A Modern Approach pp 59–72Cite as

Biochemical Parameters of Nutrition

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Abstract

Nutrition is an important factor in the aetiology and management of several major causes of death and disability. The nutritional status of a person is the result of a balance between the intake and the requirement of nutrients. Optimal nutritional status is achieved when sufficient nutrients are consumed to support day-to-day body needs. This status promotes growth and development, maintains general health, support activities of daily living, and assists in protection from diseases. Several variables can influence the intake of food: economical, emotional, developmental and cultural factors, dietary patterns, unbalanced self-imposed diets, anorexia, bulimia, etc. The intake of food also varies in relation to many physiological situations, such as growth, pregnancy, breast-feeding and physical activity. Dysphagia, dyspepsia, malabsorption, loss of nutrients (vomit, diarrhoea, wounds, fistulas, drainage, etc.), alterations in metabolic and nutritional requirements, and drug interactions can be present in different pathological situations.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Geriatrics Division, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

    Emine M. Inelmen & Giuseppe Sergi

Authors
  1. Emine M. Inelmen
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  2. Giuseppe Sergi
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Oncology, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy

    Giovanni Mantovani

  2. Department of Clinical Cardiology, Imperial College, NHLI, London, UK

    Stefan D. Anker

  3. Department of Cardiology Charité, Applied Cachexia Research, Campus Virchow-Klinikum, Berlin, Germany

    Stefan D. Anker

  4. Department of Behavioral Medicine, Kagoshima University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima, Japan

    Akio Inui

  5. GRECC, VA Medical Center and Division of Geriatric Medicine, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA

    John E. Morley

  6. Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Rome, La Sapienza, Rome, Italy

    Filippo Rossi Fanelli

  7. Department of Infectious Diseases, IRCCS S.Matteo Polyclinic, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy

    Daniele Scevola

  8. Bone Marrow and Blood Stem Cell Transplantation Program, Center for Lymphoma and Myeloma, New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    Michael W. Schuster

  9. Department of Medicine-Geriatrics, University of New York at Stony Brook VAMC, Northport, NY, USA

    Shing-Shing Yeh

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Inelmen, E.M., Sergi, G. (2006). Biochemical Parameters of Nutrition. In: Mantovani, G., et al. Cachexia and Wasting: A Modern Approach. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-0552-5_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-0552-5_7

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