For the past four years, I have worked as a food service worker in a nursing home. Although at times this is very hard work, I have come to thoroughly enjoy this job and I have become extremely interested in elder care as well as nutrition for older adults. Throughout this post, I will discuss the basics in geriatric nutrition, as well as what elders can do to avoid malnutrition, which is a major problem among the elder population.
According to research, 39-47% of older adults are either at risk for malnutrition or are already malnourished. This is a serious problem; it is stated that the elderly can be malnourished for a variety of reasons, including dietary reasons, limited income, isolation, physiological changes, and chronic illness. The elderly might have problems with dietary intake for obvious reasons: they may have no appetite, they may have difficulty chewing and swallowing, or they may just be simply not eating enough. Since most elders are retired by the time they reach the age at which malnutrition becomes a concern, it would make sense that the elderly would have a limited income and might not be able to afford healthy foods, or they may not be able to afford much food at all. Since many elders live alone later in life, it is hard for many of them to get around, and so they may not be able to cook for themselves. They may also be less willing to cook for themselves if they are recently widowed or if they are just lonely in general. Many older adults have illnesses that disable them, which could also lead to malnutrition. Finally, elders experience many physiological changes such as loss of taste and change in lean body mass, which leads to many elders having less caloric requirements than they had previously, which could also lead to malnutrition.
In order to prevent malnutrition in older adults, it is very important that a number of actions be taken, especially in health care facilities like nursing homes. It is important that healthcare providers provide elders with food and drink that will prevent their mouths from becoming too dry, maintain adequate nutritional intake, improve oral intake, make sure elders have a supporting eating environment, and make sure elders receive specialized diets according to their needs. Elderly people need to make sure their mouths are never too dry, or else it could be very difficult for them to eat. In order for this to happen, health care providers need to ensure that older adults frequently drink water and avoid caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco. Health care providers need to make sure elders are eating the correct amount of calories and are consuming enough physical food per day. Elders need to eat three meals a day, as well as have frequent snacks throughout the day to ensure that this happens. In order to provide a supportive environment for elders to eat in, health care providers can make it have a more relaxed feeling, can order the patient’s food when they feel that they are the most hungry, and can serve residents in comfortable chairs or beds. Finally, older adults need to have specialized diets in order to avoid malnutrition. For example, if an elder cannot chew food and has issues swallowing, they need to be put on a puree diet so they can still receive adequate nutrition.
Preventing malnutrition in the elderly is a serious issue, and I am very passionate about this topic. For more information, visit http://consultgerirn.org/topics/nutrition_in_the_elderly/want_to_know_more, or look up “Nutrition in the Elderly: Nursing Standard of Practice Protocol: Nutrition in Aging” by Rose Ann DiMaria-Ghalili, PhD, RN, CNSN.