How to Detect Malnutrition in Older Adults

With National Nutrition Month this March, our team of in-home care providers at Qualicare “ Big Sky wants to help make you aware of how your loved one could be at an increased risk of suffering from malnutrition by letting you know the signs to look for in your loved one each day.

Is Your Loved One Suffering from Malnutrition?

Inadequate nutrition in our loved ones can cause not only a lack of interest in eating, but can also promote more critical health conditions like a weak immune system, poor wound healing, and/or muscle weakness. Therefore, its important to spot malnutrition in your loved one as soon as possible.

Lets look at ways you can detect malnutrition in your loved one.

First, has your loved one been losing weight? Unless recommended to lose weight by his or her physician, you want to ensure your loved one is maintaining a healthy weight. If his or her clothing is beginning to fit loosely, he or she might be losing weight due to malnutrition.

Second, is your loved one experiencing dental issues and poor wound healing? This could be a result of poor oral hygiene (such as tooth loss) and the bodys inability to heal itself from injury as quickly as it was able to before if he or she is not receiving enough nutrients. Therefore, one or both issues could be signs of malnutrition in your loved one.

Finally, as we age, we tend to take more medications. Therefore, talk to your loved ones physician or pharmacist about all the medications he or she is taking and if they could be playing a role in any change of eating habits in your loved one, including loss or increase of appetite, poor digestion, and nutrient absorption.

Visit the Qualicare “ Big Sky website today to learn how our in-home care providers can help promote good health in your loved one by making sure he or she receives the nutrition needed to maintain a long, healthy life.