Background: Fluid and nutrition is essential for us to survive. Malnutrition is a recurring problem in elderly care and the elderly are particularly vulnerable to the consequences of malnutrition. The knowledge about how malnutrition should be treated in care varies. The aim was to illuminate the factors that are important in the risk of malnutrition in the elderly. Method: Literature review was chosen as the method for this study. Both qualitative and quantitative articles were used in this review.

Results: Four themes were identified as important factors in risk of malnutrition in the elderly as a nurse should be aware of in order to attract attention to and be able to prevent malnutrition in the elderly. The themes are life-world perspective, to discover, educating and to put in initiatives. Conclusion: To have good knowledge of the factors that contribute to the risk of malnutrition is significant in nurses' prevention work. To regularly check the weight, and the use of screening tools are important building blocks. Training of staff but also of patients is an important part of prevention.