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Malnutrition, A Real Issue for Seniors

How to Help Your Parents Not Fall Into It

Malnutrition affects older adults in many ways and it comes in many forms for seniors in particular.  Nearly 40% of older adults (age 51 and higher) are overweight in the United States.  Seniors can be underweight as well and the reasons that cause this are something I will go into in this article.  Lack of food is an issue (there are meal delivery services available), but what about the seniors that have food in the fridge but still do not eat, that is something that we as adult children sometimes fail to understand the underlying issues why our parents do that.  Adult children find out about their parents not eating from the side effects that result from missing meals, such as falling.  Falling is one of the major side effects from not eating as the older adult gets dizzy or disoriented.  We want to prevent falls in older adults, so regular food consumption is a priority for seniors and making sure they eat is a key component to being proactive on their independence.


Why are my parents not eating, their fridge has food

There are reasons our parents may eat less as they age and some of it has to do with the aging process according to the National Library of Medicine.  There are physiological changes that happen in our body as we age that can reduce our appetite such as: decreased need for energy,  hormonal changes, changes in our digestive system, disease, changes to sense of smell and pain.  A study in the 80's found that anorexia of ageing is more prevalent in older women.  There are other overlaying factors that can cause an older adult not to eat such as depression, forgetting to eat (memory impairment) and medication side effects. 

 

What can I do to help my parents eat

There are several actions as the adult child that you can take to help make sure your parents are not only eating but eating healthy.  Depression affects older adults and much of it is tied to isolation and lack of exercise.  We, the adult children, can encourage our parents to get out and be active.  We can encourage them to go for a walk and call them regularly to see how they are doing.  By regularly, I mean every day for a few minutes or at least 3 times a week depending on their status.  Reminding them to eat can be challenging and time consuming for adult children but a few minutes a day is time well spent to avoid the effects of missing a meal.  

Most of our parents take at least some form of medication and a recent visit to the doctor means that medication could change based on their progress.  Staying on top of when they get new medication and checking in on them regularly for the first few weeks is very important to see how they are reacting with their food consumption.  Of course asking our mom or dad what they ate or how much they ate yesterday or a few days ago may not get us an accurate answer, so you will need to check-in everyday and keep track of their food consumption and remind them to eat if necessary.  If this seems like a tedious task, it can be, but remember the alternative of them loosing their independence. 

 

If you are in Arlington County Virginia or Fairfax County Virginia and looking for an elder care service that can assist you with the above, try this. 

 

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