Excess weight can become a particular health hazard with age, triggering cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancers, joint problems and other inflammatory conditions. This article looks at what can be done to help the elderly population maintain a healthy weight, while avoiding problems such as sarcopenia and bone loss. Weight tends to be carried more around the middle in the older person, which poses more of a risk for metabolic diseases than excess weight elsewhere — why this happens and how it can be avoided is discussed. This paper also looks at appropriate calorie intake and activity and explores weight loss and why it is harder and slower to lose weight with age. Preventing loss of strength and mobility is also important with aging, and, as immune function can decrease with age, how to avoid this declining significantly is also touched upon.
This article explores the natural ageing process and the impact it can have on the nutritional status of elderly patients. In the article, the author considers the body’s ageing process and the changes patients can struggle with as a result. Recognition, identification and treatment of malnutrition with this patient group is an essential part of care within the NHS, which, if done appropriately, can improve patient quality of life - in particular, functional status. An appreciation of the physiological changes which are happening as part of the ageing process allows healthcare professionals to offer tailored advice and provide reassurance to patients.
