MALNUTRITION AWARENESS WEEK
2024
BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
A PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, inadequate or unbalanced nutrition, known as malnutrition, is prevalent in many groups, including vulnerable populations such as hospitalized patients and minority populations, with older adults having the highest rate of malnutrition compared to other groups; and
WHEREAS, illness, injury, and malnutrition can result in the loss of lean body mass, leading to complications that impact good patient health outcomes, including recovery from surgery, illness, or disease; and
WHEREAS, nutrition is a human right and social determinant of health; during the global COVID-19 health pandemic, malnutrition was exacerbated, intensifying disparities, inequities, and social isolation, which was further compounded by food insecurity; and
WHEREAS, disease-related malnutrition is a highly prevalent form of malnutrition, and over two million hospital stays involve malnutrition per year; and
WHEREAS, malnourished patients have hospital stays that are two times longer compared to patients with no malnutrition, and each day, approximately 15,000 hospital patients with malnutrition go undiagnosed; and
WHEREAS, the 30-day readmission rate is 1.6 times higher than for patients without malnutrition; readmitted malnourished patients are also twice as likely to be diagnosed with an infection; and
WHEREAS, readmitted malnourished patients have hospital costs that are 22 percent higher than readmitted patients with no malnutrition; and
WHEREAS, malnourished patients have three times the mortality rate of all hospitalized patients; and
WHEREAS, malnutrition leads to more complications, falls, and readmissions, plays a role in cognitive deterioration and decreased functional capacity, and affects quality of life; and
WHEREAS, screening, assessment, diagnosis, and intervention are key to improving the lives of those suffering from malnutrition throughout the nation and in North Carolina;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, ROY COOPER, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim September 16 – 20, 2024, as “MALNUTRITION AWARENESS WEEK” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.
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Roy Cooper
Governor
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this tenth day of September in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-four and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.