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| Dianna Malkowski |
By Dianna Malkowski, Physician Assistant & Nutritionist
March is National Nutrition Month and this year’s theme is
“Eat Right, Your Way, Every Day.” It encourages personalized healthy eating
styles and recognizes the impact of food preferences, lifestyle, cultural and
ethnic traditions, and health concerns. When it comes to seniors, personalization
is the key to maintaining healthy eating habits.
Many seniors mistakenly consider frozen foods a
one-size-fits-all solution. They’re typically inexpensive and convenient, but
in most cases, they’re neither healthy nor appetizing. While businesses
continually experiment with services like home-delivered frozen meals, it
doesn’t solve the problem of too few calories, lack of fresh veggies, high
sodium content and unwanted preservatives.
Here are five facts everyone should know about senior
malnutrition:
1. Hunger and malnutrition are very real problems for
America’s seniors. A study commissioned by the Meals On Wheels Association of
America Foundation discovered 5 million American seniors are at risk of
malnutrition, 2.5 million are at risk of hunger and about 750,000 experience
hunger.
2. Signs and symptoms of malnutrition include weight loss,
muscle weakness, poor wound healing and bruising.
3. There are many causes of malnutrition, including
financial limitations, medications, depression, and physical problems that can
limit seniors’ ability to shop for and prepare meals and eat without
difficulty.
4. There are a variety of programs to help seniors get
proper nutrition. Visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Nutrition Assistance Programs page to see whether your loved one qualifies for federal or
state help.
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| Mom's Meals delivers freshly prepared foods to homes. |
5. For those who don’t qualify for government assistance,
there are affordable services, like Mom’s Meals, which delivers tasty,
nutritionally balanced, freshly prepared meals to a customer’s doorstep. Each
meal is priced as low as $5.99 plus shipping, contains fresh foods, is
microwaveable and will keep in the refrigerator for two weeks. Mom’s Meals
offers 45 unique meal choices, including specialty choices like low-sodium,
low-fat, gluten-free and more. Plus they
offer inside delivery so customers don’t have to lug heavy boxes.
In addition to choosing tasty, nutritious foods, other ways
to fight malnutrition include encouraging daily exercise, turning meals into
social events and discussing treatment options with your loved one’s
nutritionist or doctor.
National Nutrition Month, sponsored annually by the Academy
of Nutrition and Dietetics, is a campaign to educate on the importance of sound
eating and physical activity habits.
Read “9 Ways to Get Someone to Eat” and more on The
CareGiver Partnership blog.
Watch this video for tips on recognizing and preventing senior malnutrition.
Dianna Malkowski is a Board Certified Physician Assistant
and Mayo Clinic trained nutritionist specializing in diabetes, cancer, wound
healing, therapeutic diets and nutrition support. She serves on the board of
professional advisers for The CareGiver Partnership and enjoys working with
patients and caregivers alike.
2 comments:
Maintaining healthy eating habits is really important to everyone, especially when it comes to elders. My parents are in their early 70’s. So I will be very careful when selecting food for them. Thanks for your tips. Those are really helpful for me.
I am a caregiver of my husband’s parents. These tips are really helpful for me. Thanks a lot.
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