Weight loss and weight gain in a nursing home: a prospective study.

We studied a nursing home population to delineate the frequency of weight loss and weight gain, the categories of loss and gain, and the factors or causes that contribute to losses and gains. Acute illness was determined to be the major cause of weight loss at the nursing home, followed by psychiatric/psychologic disorders and dementia. Such facts encourage replication in other nursing home populations to prompt attention to weight loss and weight gain.