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PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review looks at the recent medical literature on the association between hospital length of stay and nutritional status. RECENT FINDINGS: Simple anthropometric parameters underestimate the nutritional risk in hospitalized patients. The Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool and Nutritional Risk Screening are simple screening tools that identify patients who require further monitoring. Recent weight loss appears to be the most important single indicator of nutritional status. Body composition measurements identify patients with muscle mass depletion and excess body fat, both of which are significantly associated with increased length of stay. The Subjective Global Assessment is useful at detecting patients with established malnutrition and the Mini Nutritional Assessment for the elderly is useful at detecting patients who need preventive nutritional measures. The Nutritional Risk Index, which incorporates albumin and weight loss, appears to capture both nutritional risk and poor clinical outcome. SUMMARY: Nutritional risk is associated with the length of stay in hospital. The choice of nutritional screening and assessment tools depends on the type of institution (university hospital versus community hospital), the patient populations (acute care versus intermediary care; general hospital versus elderly population) and the resources available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This article will summarize the current findings on the effects of physical activity on human health and well-being. RECENT FINDINGS: Physical activity is associated with enhanced health and reduced risk of all-cause mortality such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, sarcopenia, cognitive disorders, and some forms of cancer. Nevertheless, the effects of exercise with respect to potential health consequences are complex. When untrained or previously sedentary persons undertake vigorous exertion suddenly, the undesired side effects of injuries, dehydration or cardiac arrest are amplified. SUMMARY: It is reasonable to conclude that the risk exposure through physical activity is outweighed by its overall benefits, and health authorities strongly encourage participation in moderate intensity physical activity on a daily basis. In the future, the identification and characterization of particularly inactive sub-groups of the population may facilitate and optimize the planning of public health interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]