The aim of the study was to assess the nutritional status of a cohort of elderly people living independently at home. 314 elderly individuals were selected during general medicine examinations. The collection of nutritional data concerned the measurement of some anthropometric parameters (body weight, height, and BMI), the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) and serum albumin. The average age was 72.92 ± 6.26 years with a feminine predominance (59.55%). The BMI was 25.63 ± 4.43 Kg·m^-2 and serum albumin 36.45 ± 5.77 g·L^-1. 61% of the investigated population were affected by chronic diseases such as: diabetes (39%). Using the MNA as a mean of screening; 46.18% of individuals presented a risk of malnutrition and 4.78% were undernourished. However, when the BMI and serum albumin were used; 14.01% and 42.35% have been considered as undernourished respectively. The MNA seems to be a more sensitive tool rather than the other screening parameters (BMI and serum albumin) in the assessment of nutritional risk in the elderly

Background: Malnutrition is common for elderly representing a major public health problem with many consequences for the health. Objectives: To assess the nutritional status of a population of elderly living at home. Subjects and Methods: The assessment was conducted from a population of elderly living at home who saw their doctor in the office of a public health centre. For each subject, the anthropometric parameters (weight, height, body mass index (BMI)), biochemical (serum albumin) and Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) tools have been measured and calculated. Results: 202 mostly female (56.44%) subjects aged 73.59 ± 5.87 years were included in this study. 78% were suffering from chronic diseases, the most frequent of which was diabetes (32%). 7.43% of the diseased population have BMI < 21, 5.94% experienced undernutrition (MNA < 17) and 68.81% are at risk of malnutrition (MNA: 17-23.50). According to serum albumin, 8.91% of the sample is considered to be malnourished. Conclusion: The MNA has proven to be a screening tool more sensitive than other tools (BMI and albumin) in the evaluation of nutritional risk.