Energy intake, disability, disease and skinfold thickness in a long-stay hospital.

Body build was assessed by measuring supinator and triceps skinfold thickness of 66 elderly patients in a long-stay hospital. Nursing staff made seven day records of the food intakes for the subjects. These were used to estimate calorie intakes. There was no relationship between energy intake and skinfold thickness. Reduced skinfold thicknesses were more common in subjects with rheumatoid arthritis or a previous fractured neck of femur than in those with cerebro-vascular disease or any other disorder. The findings suggest that the body build of long-stay patients is usually determined by their energy intake prior to admission. The feeding patterns of patients, once they are admitted, have little effect on body build.