The Signs of Poor Nutrition

Is your elder looking frail, gaunt or deplete of energy? Does the elderly person fall ill frequently or get easily tired?  Then, there are the signs of poor nutrition in the senior person.

When seniors do not get the required nutrition, their bodies exhibit some symptoms which may be mistaken for an illness. To prevent such misconceptions, it is always better to have a seniors nutrition plan and adhere to it.

Taking care of elders is a meticulous task which requires total attention to be paid to the seniors' nutrition plan. It involves preparing a diet chart for senior citizens, preparing meals that suit them and ensuring that the nutrition for elderly patients is wholesome and complete.

Keeping in mind all these factors, the dining at assisted living facilities is organized to prevent malnutrition in seniors.

Causes of poor nutrition in seniors

Seniors exhibit signs of poor nutrition when they do not take food in the right quantity and proportion. The senior diet must include proteins, carbohydrates, fats, etc in the right proportion and must be correctly balanced to meet their ageing needs. Elders fail to follow the correct diet due to the following reasons.

1. Loss of taste buds - Elders lose their taste buds due to age and this make the food too bitter or our to eat. So, they avoid eating food or consume in less quantity leading to malnourishment.
2. Loss of smell - The sense of smell decreases with age, making the food unappetizing.
3. Loss of hearing - Elder love to eat in company while chatting with others. When they lose their power of hearing, eating becomes a boring task.
4. Loss of teeth - Seniors may lose their teeth with age and this makes it difficult for them to eat crunchy or chewy food.
5. Change in digestive pattern - Elders experience constipation or flatulence as they age and might be forced to avoid certain fruit, vegetable or lentils.
6. Dehydration and loss of kidney function - After a certain age, elders are unable to conserve the fluid in the body due to loss of kidney function.thi dehydration affects their appetite and their nutrition.

Having seen the causes of poor nutrition in elderly patients, we must know how to detect the signs of poor nutrition and prevent them in elders.

Signs of poor nutrition in elders

Watch out for these signs of poor nutrition in elders.

1. Appetite loss - The elder may not eat as much as they used or may skip meals.
2. Sudden change in weight- There may be sudden weight loss or gain indicating an unbalanced diet.
3. Lack of energy - Is your elder always tired or drained of energy? There are chance that he/she is malnourished.
4. Change in skin tone - Is your senior looking pale or anemic? Is the skin spotty and blemished? Look out of these signs of some deficiency in the diet.
5. Medication - Some seniors may take a number of medications. This may even kill their appetite.
6. Illness or infection - An elder recovering or suffering from an infection may also have poor appetite.

To prevent the above sign of poor nutrition in seniors, let us prepare a diet chart for senior citizens.

Diet chart for senior citizens

On an average, elderly women following an active lifestyle require 2000 calories while elderly men who are active, need 2400 calories.

On the other hand, elderly women with a sedentary lifestyle need only 1600 calories while elderly men who are less active, requires 2000 calories.

	Sedentary Women	Sedentary Men	Active Women	Active Men
Breakfast	Wheat toast-2 slices, omelette, 1 cup orange juice, 1/2cup mushrooms	Wheat toast-2 slices, 30 gms cereal, 1 cup milk, 1 peach	1 cup cereal, 1 cup milk, 1 toast with butter, 1 pear	1 cup cereal, 1 banana, 1 cup skim milk, 1 peanut butter cookie, 3/4 cup apple juice
Mid-morning snack	1 apple	1 cup yoghurt with fruit and bran	yo1 apple, 1 cup yoghurt (low fat)	1 slice whole wheat bread with 1 tsp butter
Lunch	Wheat Pasta salad, 1 cup cooked vegetables, or 50 gm chicken breast and 1 orange	Chicken sandwich with wheat bread, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, 30 gms cheese, 1 cup orange juice	1 cup quinoa, 1 cup vegetables, 1 salmon in olive oil	1 cup brown rice or quinoa with cooked vegetables or fish, 1 melon
Mid-evening snack	2 cucumber	1 cup fat-free yoghurt	30 gms nuts	1 apple
Dinner	1 cup brown rice, tofu and mixed vegetable gravy	Baked fish, baked potato, broccoli, Wheat toast-2 slices, 1 glass lemonade or 1 cup fruit custard	1 cup brown rice, chicken breast, mixed vegetable gravy, 1 cake slice	Chicken salad with vegetables, 1 cup cooked sprouts with 1 slice whole wheat bread

Elders must follow the diet chart for senior citizens to remain healthy and the dining in assisted living must adhere to the senior nutrition plan to keep elders well-nourished and happy.