Recognize the Signs of Malnutrition During National Healthy Weight Week

In our modern obsession with weight, we’re taught to think that all weight loss is good weight loss. But for our senior loved ones, malnutrition — dangerous weight loss — can be a real problem.

Seniors can suffer from malnutrition even when food is plentiful and easily affordable. Mobility issues or nervousness about driving can make grocery shopping difficult, while grocery bags and heavy cooking pans may become too cumbersome to handle. For seniors living alone, loneliness and depression can lead to a loss of appetite — as can some prescription drugs and drug interactions. If dementia or Alzheimer's disease are present, forgetting to shop or eat can also be issues. And here’s an issue you might never have considered: many medical tests and procedures require periods of fasting beforehand. If your loved one is hospitalized, different departments may run different tests on consecutive days, leading to long periods without any real food at all.

During this year’s National Healthy Weight Week (January 15-21) we encourage you to check in with your senior loved one to make sure that they are eating regularly, eating healthy food and showing no signs of malnutrition. We have included a link below to a downloadable document that will help you recognize those signs, understand the risks involved, and talk to your loved one’s medical team about possible drug interactions or fasting issues.

We’ve also included a link to an article published by AARP summarizing recent research that suggests that for the truly elderly, a healthy weight might be MORE than we are used to considering, not less. Those few extra pounds can provide a necessary cushion when sudden shocks or medical emergencies arise!

Here’s another useful tip: the compassionate caregivers from Overture Home Care can help your senior loved one with healthy meal planning, shopping, grocery handling and meal prep. Give us a call 24/7 at (817) 887-9401 for a free consultation to see what we can do for your family.