Malnutrition is a serious problem amongst many sections of the population. Increases in morbidity and mortality, length of hospital stay and hence, cost of providing health care have all been attributable to this, so the identification of subjects at risk of malnutrition is essential to provide optimal nutrition during treatment and recovery. Many screening tools have been developed for the purpose of identifying subjects who are at risk of malnutrition. However, selection of the most appropriate instrument for use in a particular population is hampered by the sheer number of existing tools and the fact that many of these have not been rigorously developed and evaluated.