Nutrition and Ageing

This chapter provides an overview of why nutrition is important in older age. Focusing on the physiological changes that occur with ageing, it describes the nutritional needs and status of older adults and considers some special issues arising in nutrition-disease relationships in older age. As undernutrition and malnutrition are common in older populations and associated with poorer health outcomes, including longer duration of hospital stays and greater mortality, routine screening of nutritional status in older populations is essential for early diagnosis. Recognized risk factors for poor nutrition in older age include poorer appetite and physical health, and negative effects of social isolation and eating alone. Interventions to support older adults need to consider the complex array of influences on diet. Moreover, the ageing global population points to the need for better longitudinal data to understand trajectories of nutrition in older age that will inform the design of future preventive measures.