Millions of older people don’t get enough nutrients – the way to spot it and what to do about it

By 2050, roughly 1 / 4 of the UK population is expected to be over the age of 65. With this in mind, the World Health Organization (WHO) has put “healthy ageing” on its agenda. This means finding ways to keep up health, wellbeing and functional ability in an effort to have a superb quality of life and revel in the later years.

Everyone ages at a unique rate – but there are some things that may influence how well we age, corresponding to by making changes to the forms of activity we do and the foods we eat.

Older adults are generally less physically energetic than they were once they were younger and for this reason, their energy intake requirement may decrease. However, there may be a difference between energy requirements and nutrient requirements, and nutrient requirements actually remain the identical, if not increase, as we become older.

This means we want to get more nutrients into less energy which might be tricky as older adults often have lower appetites. This is why scientists suggest that it might be needed to counterpoint the food of older people to keep up the nutrient intake.

How to identify when someone isn’t eating enough?

Several studies have shown that undernutrition affects one in ten older people living independently at home. However, it affects five in ten older people living in nursing homes, and 7 in ten older people in hospital.

Being obese, even obese, doesn’t protect against undernutrition. And when older adults drop extra pounds, they lose muscle, meaning that they usually tend to lose their abilities to do each day tasks.

Weight loss in older adults is a key sign of malnutrition that should be addressed – but it will possibly be easily missed, especially when many older adults associate the concept of thinness with good health. But clothing that’s too loose or a watchstrap that floats on the wrist are all warning signs of undernourishment.

Similarly, if someone you look after has began to say things like, “Oh, I don’t want much food today, I’m not hungry”, “I’m not hungry, it’s natural, I’m getting older”, or “I’d quite just have a biscuit to be honest,” then these may very well be warning signs. An effective option to carry on top of that is regular weighing not less than once per 30 days which enables a fast response to potential indicators of malnutrition.

Getting more nutrients into less food

If individuals are eating small amounts of food, it can be crucial to take into consideration the way to add more nutrients into it. A really effective technique, “fortification” is often done with pre-made products corresponding to breakfast cereals, plant-based milk and bread within the UK.

Fortification (adding foods, ingredients or nutrients into to existing foods or meals) is straightforward to do at home as well and might provide a versatile approach for older adults because it allows them to proceed eating the foods that they most enjoy.

For older adults particularly, protein is a vital nutrient, due to muscle loss (sarcopenia) which is a natural a part of ageing. This may very well be slowed down and even reversed by eating enough protein at regular intervals throughout the day. Just a few ways to extend protein include:

• Adding dairy ingredients corresponding to milk, high-protein yoghurt, Quark (soft cheese), milk powders, eggs and cheese into meals – even into easy foods like mashed potato.

• Nuts are a terrific source of protein, try adding ground almonds to savoury or sweet meals (watch out for nut allergies).

• Soy protein could be a convenient and cost-effective option, either for vegetarians or to further fortify minced-meat meals.

• Look within the sports section of supermarkets to seek out whey protein powders. These are marketed to gym enthusiasts, but actually whey is one among the best proteins to stimulate muscle growth. This versatile ingredient might be mixed into porridge before cooking or used it as an alternative choice to other powdered ingredients in baking.

Importance of physical activity and strength exercises

Physical activity and nutrition go hand-in-hand – each are equally necessary. As we age, being physically energetic becomes much more essential because it helps to stop disease, maintains independence, decreases risk of falls, improves cognitive function, mental health and sleep.

Exercise may also combat isolation and loneliness which has also been linked to decreased appetite in older adults. Often strength training gets ignored when we predict of being energetic but to maintain independence and stop falls, older adults should do varied physical activity that emphasises balance and strength training at moderate or greater intensity on three or more days per week.

Ultimately, it’s essential to contact a physician or dietician with any worries or concerns about malnutrition or unintentional weight reduction. There are, nonetheless, some excellent resources to learn more about ageing healthily and maintaining a superb quality of life in later years.