Diets causing malnutrition in elderly
Age UK calls for clearer eating advice as cases of malnutrition in older people treble in 10 years
WOMEN dieting into old age is contributing to a malnutrition crisis among pensioners, with a trebling of cases over the past decade, Age UK has warned.
The charity is calling for clearer official advice so that women who may have dieted on and off for much of their adult lives realise they should eat more heartily as they approach old age. Too many enter their final decades “still chomping on the salads” without realising they need to boost their protein intake, the experts said.
It comes as NHS figures show the number of people aged 60 or over diagnosed with malnutrition went up from 1,405 in 2007-08 to 4,988 in 2017-18.
Age UK believes the dramatic rise is only partly explained by better awareness and reporting of the issue.
The body warned last night that, as well as poor choice of diet, increasingly threadbare levels of domiciliary care, with short visits from carers, has left vulnerable pensioners eating less healthily. It is estimated that around 1.3million elderly people in the UK currently either suffer from or are at risk of malnutrition.
Data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing suggest that more than 230,000 people aged 75 and over struggle with the physical aspects of eating, such as cutting up food or opening jars.
Meanwhile, around 1.9million have difficulty eating because of a dental condition.
Age UK is urging families to take advantage of family gatherings at Christmas to look out for signs that relatives are malnourished.
These include rings sliding off fingers, clothes appearing looser and a lack of appetite. Lesley Carter, clinical lead for the charity’s Malnutrition Task Force, said too many people – in particular women – were failing to adjust their diet as they aged.
“We’re seeing this all the time – a lot of women have been dieting on and off all their life, or at least they’ve been very conscious of what they eat, and even as they become elderly they’re still chomping on the salads,” she said.
“Often that’s not the correct diet for someone who is ageing. They need to be trying to eat a lot more protein.”
Even two or three days of malnourishment can have serious physical effects for elderly people.
Often the problem is only recognised once a patient has been admitted to hospital. Age UK says that when an elderly person cannot face a large meal, they should be offered snacks and smaller meals throughout the day.
Dianne Jeffrey, who chairs the task force, said: “It is shocking that 1.3million older people suffer from or are at risk of malnutrition in our country and the root of the problem doesn’t just lie with poverty.
“There are other contributing factors that add to the risk ... a lack of ability to shop, eat and drink at home without help as well as loneliness and isolation, grief and bereavement, poor physical and mental health or a lack of awareness of the risks by health and social care staff.”