The loss of weight is a common feature in a large number of diseases, particularly in malignancies. There are some controverses in the literature concerning body composition in malnourished patients with cancer that may differ from patients without cancel: The aim of this study was to compare the body composition of malnourished patients with benign and malignant diseases of the digestive system by bioelectric impedance. Thirty five malnourished patients (body mass index < I 8.5) were evaluated. The age ranged from 22 to 70 years; 26 (74.3%) were male and 09 (25.7%) were female. Seventeen of them (48.6%) had neoplasies and 18 (51.4% ) had benign conditions of the digestive tract. The neoplasic group was older than the non-neoplasic group (55.5±10.4 vs 39.8±9.9; p<0.05). The body fat, lean mass and body water percents did not differ between the groups. Albumin levels (benign 2.6±0.6 mg/dl vs cancer 2.9±0.6 mg/d/,. p>0.05) and the percentual of loss of weight (benign 24.0±9.8 vs cancer 24.1± I4.7) were similar in both groups. It was concluded that the body composition in malnourished patients is similar in benign and malignant conditions of the digestive tract provided that interferencies due to different degrees of loss of weight are eliminated.
Malnutrition; Body composition; Digestive system; Cancer; Bioelectric impedance