Nutrition and Aging: Meeting the Unique Needs of Older Adults
Optimal nutrition is an essential element for the quality of life and health in older adults. Energy needs and thus food intake decrease with age, while requirements for other nutrients remain stable or increase. Thus, older adults are at greater risk for undernutrition than their younger counterparts. Physiological, psychological, and environmental factors faced by many older adults amplify this risk. At the pinnacle of risk are older adults who are hospitalized, undergoing surgery, or living in long-term care facilities, with cognitive decline and dementia further complicating both diagnosis and treatment of malnutrition. The COVID-19 pandemic is creating a unique further health risk in this population, who experiences the highest rates of infection and likelihood of disease complications. While the majority of older adults have not contracted COVID-19, the strict social isolation they are experiencing is reducing diet quality and worsening health outcomes. Whether in the community, hospital, or long-term care facility, nutritional care for older adults needs interprofessional collaboration to assure that their basic nutritional requirements are met, utilizing interventions that account for their underlying physiological, psychological, and environmental risk factors. This chapter will provide insights into the unique nutritional risks that face our older adult population and guidance for effective interventions to meet their nutritional needs.
