Nutrition in elderly Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Nutrition in elderly - Essay Example This population requires greater care as there are many reasons that lead to malnutrition in the elderly. These include different pathological conditions that restrict their dietary intake. The nutritional requirements of the elderly need to be assessed and explained so that this group of the population can be catered and the prevalence of malnutrition amongst the elderly can be reduced. Nutrition in Elderly Elderly people are subjected to the dilemma of malnutrition. Furthermore, efforts have been made to give them sufficient nutritional balance but there are still many hurdles that have stopped this process. First of all, the nutritional requirements of the elderly are sometimes not very well described. As the basal metabolic rate and lean body mass both decline as one grows old, the energy requirement of an older person per kilogram of his or her body weight also reduces. This process of ageing also adversely affects the different nutrient needs of the human body. For instance, as the requirements for some of the nutrients reduce over time, data suggests that other essential nutrients’ needs might further increase when a person gets old. Therefore, there is a pressing need to reconsider the currently recommended every day nutrient allowances for the elderly group. Additionally, there is a rising demand all across the world for guidelines by WHO which are capable to urge the national authorities to highlight the nutritional needs of the increasing elderly populations all over the world (BBC, 2012). Nutrition in elderly is therefore an important issue in nursing that needs to be understood as the nutritional requirements of the elderly are different from the other age groups. 1. Background Of The Issue a.) History Almost more than 1.4 million Americans who are above the age of sixty five reside in nursing homes according to the data collected by Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration on Aging in 2008. Nutrition does play a vital role in encouraging the health of elderly occupants of the nursing homes. Comprehending the facts about how these nursing homes cater the dietary and nutritional needs of their people can assist one in learning what to expect from them and also to look for a nursing home in the future (World Health Organization, 2012). b.) Advice for Interested People many federal and state regulations are there to help restrict serious nutrition problems from taking place in the nursing homes; but one should plan on taking a practical approach for the monitoring of the nutrient intake of the elderly. Whenever you are considering placing your elder one in a nursing home, you should talk to the staff about their nutritional program. Also, you should arrange for visiting on a meal time so that you can try the meal yourself as well. Then you can also review the facility’s procedure and policy manual which should exclusively explain the nutritional protocol and plan of the senior citizens home. N ow if you have any concerns, you can arrange for a meeting with the nutrition program director to discuss as well as solve any concerns you have regarding what your loved one is eating (World Health Organization, 2012). c.) Impact of Public Policy/Health care Delivery Nursing homes need to cater a wide range of healthy snacks and meals to their residents as well as sticking to the restrictions placed on the residents related to their diets. Those people who are not able to feed their own self need to be assisted by the staff. Weight loss and