Malnutrition In Older Adults

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Malnutrition is when patients or people are not getting enough nutrients from their diets. Malnutrition occurs in all ages. This paper will focus more on the older adults. Oral care and promoting good nutrition will also be discussed. “Malnutrition is under assessed and under managed problem in the elderly population” (Elia et al., 2005) There are quite a few factors that contribute to malnutrition which are “economic status, physical disabilities, chronic disease, access to food sources, physiological changes.” (DeWit, O’Neill, 2014) Also oral health can contribute to malnutrition. How does oral health factor in on malnutrition? It effects your chewing capabilities, taste perception, and being able to swallow. The older adult is use to eating …show more content…

That particular elder could have outlived their spouses and their friends. Now they are lonely and have nobody to eat with or eating at certain places could bring back memories. They could then lose their appetite. “The most common cause of reduced food intake is the older adult’s loss of appetite.” (Chen et al., 2007; Stratton et al., 2003) “Research shows the older adult that are malnourished become depressed and have a higher infection rate.”(Chen et al., 2007; Kubrak and Jensen, 2007; Correia and Waitzberg, 2003) Older adults would rather eat something sweet rather than eat a nutritious meal. That can also be a factor in their malnutrition because it effects their oral health if they lose too many teeth. The elderly also has a decrease in in the taste and smell department. They have a decreased smell intake which leads to decreased appetite. If they have a physical limitation such as arthritis, the older adult is not going to want to cook a full course meal because they are in pain. They look to fast foods restaurants for their meals which in turn cause them to lose nutrients by eating high fat foods. Another factor will be lack of income. The older adults are …show more content…

They can prepare several of their favorite foods at one time so they will not have to cook every day. They can just warm the meal up when they become hungry. If the older adult is used to having friends and their spouse around and they are no longer living and that particular elder is lonely they can join a new church. They could also join the community center; the community center organizes places and things for the elderly to do. Sometimes they will have to be by themselves and they just go outside. They could eat dinner on the porch and take in the weather. They could enjoy the simple things in life and it won’t cost them a dime out of their fixed income. If they have a limited income or fixed income they can try Meals on wheels, SNAP food stamp program and food banks. (DeWit, O’Neill, 2014). They can also ask some of their younger relatives to prepare food for them and bring it over to them in bulk form so they can go a while without cooking or using their own money. They should keep nutritious snacks around at their home and also in their room if they live in a long term facility. The items that they can keep in their home or room are grapes, apples, bananas, unsalted peanuts and cashews, JELL-O. The food items listed won’t cut so deep in to their budget and it is also nutritious. The elder can also find a neighbor and go walking around the neighborhood a couple of times to get in some exercise. If they live in

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