Which method is the first step in identifying malnutrition?

The first step in identifying malnutrition involves assessing dietary adequacy. This initial assessment focuses on understanding an individual's nutritional intake and dietary patterns, which are crucial for evaluating their nutritional status. By examining what a person eats, health professionals can identify potential deficiencies or imbalances in nutrient intake that may lead to malnutrition.

Measuring nutrient levels in the blood, while important for diagnosing specific deficiencies, typically comes after a more comprehensive assessment of dietary habits. Similarly, measuring height and weight provides essential information about the individual's growth status and body composition but does not directly assess nutritional intake. Conducting a metabolic assessment can help understand the body's utilization of nutrients, but it requires a foundation of dietary information to make sense of the metabolic data collected. Therefore, starting with an assessment of dietary adequacy lays the groundwork for a thorough evaluation of malnutrition.