diet and maintaining a stable healthy weight are also imperative and can reduce the risk of developing several conditions such as diabetes, obesity and heart disease, all of which could predispose an individual to wounds and ulcers (Astrup, 2001). Similarly, wound healing is a complex process which can be further complicated by chronic illness. Poor nutritional status and malnutrition can impair wound healing and increase the risk of infection (Casey, 1998) pressure ulcer is an area of localised damage to the skin or underlying tissue, usually over a bony prominence as a result of unrelieved pressure, friction and/ or shear (Gandy, 2014). The impact of malnutrition on certain such pressure ulcers is serious and is exceeded by nutritional deficiency and impaired immune function (McLaren, MALNUTRITION 1992)
The Manual of Dietetic Practice (Gandy, 2014) identified four main causes of malnutrition