Malnutrition ‘rife’ among the elderly

A local care company has said that malnutrition in the elderly is “rife” with its carers increasingly coming across cases.

Abacare, who operate across the Welshpool area, says there is a common misconception that older people naturally lose weight. Causes of malnutrition, such as illness, loneliness and loss of mobility are more common. 

Neil Griffiths (pictured), Regional Manager at Abacare, said: “While column inches in our national newspapers and magazines are dedicated to obesity in the young, malnutrition in the elderly is going unnoticed.

“According to Age UK, more than one million people over the age of 65 are malnourished or at risk of malnourishment. The condition is often poorly understood or not dealt with properly.

“Many people over the age of 65 may live alone and will often see no point in cooking themselves a proper meal, instead opting for snack food or microwave meals, which means they aren’t getting the nutrients they need.

“Malnutrition can also be exacerbated due to local shop closures, cuts to meals on wheels’ services or lunch clubs as well as illness, immobility and even bereavement.

“Addressing malnutrition needs to be a key priority for everyone involved in an elderly person’s life. Our carers are vital in helping prevent our elderly service users from becoming malnourished. When visiting a service user, our carers can make them breakfast, lunch or an evening meal and as part of their care plan, they can manage their nutritional care. They can also help them with their food shopping if needed.”

Abacare operates a professional Care Management Team that is committed to providing high quality care to individuals in their own homes.

The large team of trained, specialist, care workers provide positive based outcomes and person-centred care to people throughout the UK.

Neil added: “It’s super important to raise awareness of elderly malnutrition and we would urge anyone out there who has an elderly family member, friend or neighbour, to ensure they are eating properly if they are not receiving social care visits. Anyone interested in having one of our expert carers visit them or a loved-one should get in touch via www.abacare.org.uk.”

Abacare has recently launched its new website www.abacare.org.uk for people looking for high quality care for themselves or loved ones and also for those seeking a career in care.

It is looking for kind, honest, caring and reliable individuals who wish to have a stable and long-term career in care, and who would like to forge rewarding relationships with the service users they care for.

For more information about Abacare, call 01686 625644 or visit www.abacare.org.uk.