The Importance of Appropriate Nutrition Assessment and Nutrition Education for Older Adults

Abstract

As the population of older adults continues to increase, there is even more urgency to establish nutrition assessment standards to evaluate the nutritional status of this vulnerable population, and to provide appropriate nutrition education and intervention. There is a high prevalence of undernutrition among seniors, and the cases of insufficient energy or micro and macronutrients are alarming. Unfortunately, this nutritional state is often misdiagnosed because of inappropriate assessment. The nutrition diagnosis needs to be accurate in order to provide effective intervention. The nutrition assessment of older people is sometimes challenging because older adults are often dealing with chronic medical conditions that require multiple pharmaceuticals for therapy. Therefore, drug-nutrient interactions are a prime concern among this population group. Nutrition education is an essential component in improving dietary habits and food choices, in order to reverse the under nutrition and improve the nutritional diagnosis. Poor dietary habits and lack of physical activity can be the main reason for poor nutritional status among older adults. The positive impact of nutrition education on the nutritional status of older adults has been confirmed by many studies. A study conducted among the senior Korean community indicated that after nutrition education was delivered, nutritional knowledge, nutritional attitudes and dietary habits were increased significantly. The joint position paper by the American Dietetic Association,