Health Concerns On Elderly And Causes And Consequences Of Malnutrition : What Is Specific For Elderly?

As a person ages their nutritional needs change. For the most part all the requirements are the same just less of them. Because they have slower metabolism and do not do as much the need for larger amounts of calories is no longer there. Most elderly people do not dink enough fluids, part of this is do the as they age they become less aware that they are thirsty. This has to do with their kidneys and bladder not working as well. By not drinking enough fluids they become a higher risk for dehydration. Also by not drinking enough the age faster and their skin shows more sings of aging. Exercise is important but older people do not exercise enough or at all. This party because they as they age they lose range of movement. Most exercise class and sports activities do not offer classes or are not set up for the older people in the community. Weight training is good for the elderly it helps to keep their strength up. The simplest everyday things can count as exercise and help keep them

Dementia is a very common disorder that is more common in the older population. For people aged 60-69 the dementia rate is 1in 100, but in people over 80 the rate is 1in 6(A.Smith, 2011). Dementia is a terminal illness and the prognosis is grim, suffers are only expected to live 3 to 5 years after diagnosis (A.Smith, 2011). Dementia is divided into three stages early, middle and late. People can be in the late stage for many years. During the late stage the dementia patient suffers from a lot of different issues including but not limited to dysphagia, self-feeding, and eating problems. Nearly 50 percent of patients with dementia lose their ability to self-feed within 8 years after the onset of the disease (S.A. Thomas 2014).We know that malnutrition is a serious problem when it comes to dementia

1.3 Outline how other health and emotional conditions may affect the nutritional needs of an individual with dementia

In recent years, there has been research involving the causes and consequences of poor nutrition among the elderly. Researchers continually work to distinguish risk factors of inadequate nutrition; the factors of most concern are “poor appetite, functional limitations, limited income, and social isolation” (Lirette, Podovennikoff, Wismer, Tondu, Klatt, 2007). Individuals at highest risk are those who live at home with a lack of family support (Krondl, Coleman, Lau, 2008). The diets of many elderly people are often low in calories and lacking important nutrients. All of these factors can affect the health and quality of life in the older adult. Nutrition plays a significant role in the health of

national institutes for health, if you are seventy or older you may have nutritional needs for either high or low calories depending on gender or state of

Due to the loss of muscle mass, protein adequacy is also a problem in older adults because it is not advised to increase protein intake. Limited protein intake may result in vitamin A, C, D, calcium, iron, zinc, and other deficiencies (Grodner, 2012). Overall, Theresa’s small nutrient intake can result in many nutrient deficiencies.

Many times, seniors fail to eat properly because they have difficulty grocery shopping or preparing meals. To maintain a healthy lifestyle, seniors need proper nutrition and a balanced diet to avoid many health complications such as a weakened immune system, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and osteoporosis

As we get older, cell turnover decreases and leads to the decrease of the normal functioning of the organs. A prevalent condition in otherwise healthy old adults is sarcopenia results from the natural decrease in skeletal muscle mass, which directly affects the independence of old adult to conduct daily activities such as walking, cooking and exercising. Therefore, Sarcopenia is one of the reasons for malnutrition in the elderly since it interferes with their ability to obtain and prepare their meal. Sarcopenia should receive attention and thus more research on its treatment should be conducted because, without it, otherwise healthy old adult adults could enjoy their daily activities away from costly nursing homes and hospitals. This literature review shows that

Dementia is a progressive loss of brain function affecting memory, thinking, language, judgment, and behavior. When older adults cognitive function declines, many changes impact the way they eat. As they age, cognitive impairment affects older adults physical ability to eat independently and their ability to enjoy food or their ability to eat may be affected by food choices because they become overwhelmed by too many food choices. Dr. Heidi K. White presentation on Nutrition and Dementia, described how Alzheimer’s disease affects malnutrition, ways to improve nutrition for patient with dementia, and nutritional needs for end of life care and the role for tube feeding.

Increased mortality rate (incidence of mortality of malnourished patients at 1 year being nearly 30% in 1 Australian study8)

It is critical to know the association between muscle mass measured using BIA and the COAST scores, and handgrip strength since this will reveal the better predictor of malnutrition. As a result, the early exploration of malnutrition can help to apply an appropriate nutrition intervention especially after nutritional assessment to decrease the consequences of malnutrition among older adults and so reduce the cost of health care.

Nutrition determines a lot when it comes to the health of elderly (65 and above) patients. Over the past couple of years, nutritional status has been deemed to be of real importance in a variety of morbid conditions such as dementia, heart disease and cancer in persons over the age of sixty five. Despite the fact that malnutrition in the elderly does not have a uniformly accepted definition, abnormal body mass index (BMI) and involuntary weight loss are some of the common indicators. As it happens, health practitioners find it hard to diagnose weight loss as a symptom of malnutrition in elderly patients due to the fact that loss of weight is also part of the physiology of aging. Generally, elderly patients are challenged with the effects of aging, protein under-nutrition, weight loss, cognitive impairment as well as other vascular risk factors that threaten their health status. It is therefore important for elderly patients to follow a certain dietary recommendation that ensures they are not malnourished and as such remain healthy.

Typically, older adults need fewer calories because they may not be as active and metabolic rate declines. Older adults still require the same or higher levels of nutrients for optimal health. Older adults tend to lose some ability to taste, therefore they may over season their food. They may be really increasing their salt intake which can be a problem if they are not drinking enough fluids. In older adults, we see malnutrition and we also see obesity. Different dietary plans are may be used to accommodate nutritional needs based on the older adult’s physical condition. Heart failure diets may be implicated for older adults in heart failure. Reduced salt and fluid intake are extremely important in the heart failure diet. Diets and nutritional

An evidence based nutrition assessment provides valuable information about the current nutritional status of a geriatric patient as well as serves as a prognostic tool for potential

      Physiological changes and changes in nutritional requirements are not the only cause of elderly malnutrition.  Illness and physical limitations often affect nutritional status, as 19.7% of people over age 65 have at least one disability and 28.8% reported a limitation caused by a chronic condition (9).  For