Abstract
The nutritional needs of the geriatric patient are influenced by many factors. Changes associated with aging, individual behavior, drugs, and disease augment nutritional risk for older adults. As with persons of all ages, proper nutrition and maintaining a healthy weight are very important in elderly Long-term care (LTC) residents (including subacute care, assisted living, and nursing homes, all herein generically grouped together under the rubric of “LTC”). Optimal nutrition should ideally improve health, functioning, and quality of life and reduce the risk of morbidity, mortality, and complications such as osteoporosis, weakness, pressure sores, impaired immunity, frailty, and sarcopenia. Weight loss is a negative quality indicator and risk factor for poor outcomes – survival is markedly improved with appropriate and adequate nutrition. However, maintaining appropriate nutrition, hydration, oral intake, and weight may be challenging particularly in some elderly LTC residents. Those who have dementia, depression, and gastrointestinal, neurological, musculoskeletal, or psychiatric disorders or indeed any medical condition or drug that may impair appetite, mobility, swallowing, chewing, feeding, digestion, and bowel function are especially at nutritional risk.
An erratum to this chapter can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60761-142-4_17
An erratum to this chapter can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60761-142-4_17
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Goldberg, T.H., Levine, J.A. (2011). Weight and Nutrition. In: Fenstemacher, P., Winn, P. (eds) Long-Term Care Medicine. Current Clinical Practice. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60761-142-4_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60761-142-4_9
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