Geriatrics
Nutrition
General medicine
The MNA-SF is the recommended short-form version of the Mini Nutritional Assessment. It combines six dimensions: food intake changes, weight loss, mobility, acute disease or recent stress, neuropsychological problems, and BMI — with an alternative using calf circumference in some versions. It allows the classification of nutritional status and the risk of malnutrition.
Number of questions
6 items
Approximate duration
3 to 5 minutes
Population
elderly people
Modality
Professional / Guided Collection
Terms of contract
Assessment carried out by a professional or with their support, using the unmodified official form. Weight, height, and weight changes over the last 3 months are required; if BMI is not available, calf circumference replaces it, without scoring both. Re-screening is recommended every 3 months in care homes and once a year at home.
Score interpretationMNA-SF
Sum of the points of the 6 items; total score from 0 to 14.
Total score
First reading
0
to
7
Undernutrition according to the instrument threshold.
8
to
11
Risk of undernutrition.
12
to
14
Normal nutritional status according to the MNA-SF.
12–14: normal nutritional status; 8–11: risk of malnutrition; 0–7: malnutrition.
This is a standardised nutritional screening/assessment tool. Management requires a broader clinical context.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between MNA-SF and Self-MNA?
Can calf circumference be used instead of BMI?
What are its limitations?
Sources and references
Société des Produits Nestlé S.A.; distribution/licensing Mapi Research Trust
Official MNA forms and conditions, mna-elderly.com
In practice
Full name
Mini Nutritional Assessment — Short Form
Method
Professional / Guided Collection
Language
French (validated version)
Authors
Société des Produits Nestlé S.A.; distribution/licensing Mapi Research Trust
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