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Malnutrition In Home Care Essay

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Home Care Services and Managing Senior Malnutrition

To remain healthy, we need to consume the proper number of calories and the right amount of nutrients. Many seniors face a difficult time meeting their nutritional goals due to a number of internal and external challenges.

Initially, seniors tend to eat less. Most seniors find that they simply are not as hungry as often and get full more quickly when they do eat. According to the National Library of Medicine, the average food consumption of seniors drops an average of 30 percent by the time a person reaches 80 years of age. Since many seniors consume less food, the calories that they do take in become even more important.

Further compounding the issue, a senior's body does not absorb nutrients as well during digestion. From a reduced production of stomach acid to lower numbers of good bacteria in the …show more content…

In order to increase the flavor of their food, they often increase the amounts of sugar and salt in the food or switch to foods that are already loaded with these unhealthy ingredients.

The result of not eating enough nutritious food leads to the problem of senior malnutrition. It is estimated that nearly 20 percent of seniors over 65 are malnourished. This number jumps dramatically for those in nursing homes. That is not to say that the nursing homes do not prepare nutritious foods, but that many seniors in nursing homes have more severe medical problems.

Home care services can make a huge difference in managing senior malnutrition. For example, seniors who may be suffering from arthritis or another mobility issue may struggle to prepare nutritious meals. Home care services aides can not only shop for the food, but prepare the meals, and clean up afterward. They can also work with the nutritionist to make sure your senior loved one is getting all of the vitamins and minerals that they

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