Nutrient composition of meals served to adult inpatients in public hospitals in North West, South Africa.

Background: A high-quality meal is essential to patients' food enjoyment and nutritional value. Patients' health and nutritional status depend on the quality of meals provided by the hospital food service providers. Equally, patients are largely inactive and could experience energy imbalances if the 'energy in' exceeds the 'energy out', increasing the chances of the inception of obesity and obesity-related illnesses.

Aim: This study assessed the nutrient content of meals served in selected public hospitals in the North West province, South Africa.

Setting: The normal diet meals of four district hospitals and one regional hospital in the North West province were collected for this study.

Methods: Regular adult meals for breakfast, lunch and supper including all snacks for the day were collected from five hospitals. Each edible food item was weighed and recorded on the weighed food records for later nutrient analysis using the South African-based Food Finder 3 software.

Results: Meals in one hospital met Recommended Dietary Intake (RDI) (6829KJ) requirements for total energy, while in three hospitals, the requirements were exceeded, and in one hospital, meals were below RDI (5734KJ) requirements.

Conclusion: Strict adherence to nutritionally adequate meals for hospitalised patients could positively influence and encourage patients to sustain healthy eating habits after discharge to prevent malnutrition.

Contribution: This study provides relevant information that hospital managers can use to improve processes and procedures for dietary planning and ensure that hospital meals are nutritionally adequate.