Define Health and Feeding Problems among Elderly?
Malnutrition, both obesity and under nutrition, are common problems linked with elderly. Some of the common disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkimon's disease etc. are also age related about which you may recall studying in the last unit. Dysphagia (Difficulty in swallowing), though not a disease, is a disorder which may accompany several neurological disorders. We shall not dwell on the nutritional management of these neurological disorders here in this unit since we have already covered them earlier.
Here, let us look at obesity as a problem among elderly. Obesity, we know, is correlated to number of diseases like coronary artery disease, diabetes, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, peripheral vascular disease. Hence, its treatment and management is crucial. The mainstay of treatment of obesity in elderly should be combination of exercise, healthy eating and behaviour modification, with emphasis on micronutrient supplementation. Do look up the unit on weight management. These you would find will be applicable to quite an extent in case of elderly as well. Under nutrition, among elderly, can be diet induced or may be due to other reasons.