Nutrition and Aging Lecture

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I really enjoyed the guest lecture today. One thing I found interesting is that the role of nutrition in aging can be primary, secondary, or tertiary. The primary prevention goal is to slow down the aging process. The secondary goal is to slow down the progression of chronic nutrition related diseases, and the tertiary intervention is medical nutrition therapy. We have sensory changes as we age and a lot of the processes in our bodies decline. Many older adults have at least one chronic condition and many have comorbidities. Food insecurity is a big issue in places like Memphis. Many older people do not have enough money to buy healthy food and turn to fast food which can have some very serious side effects, such as being 50% more likely to develop diabetes. Elderly clients after three days in the hospital lose an average of ten percent of their muscle mass. Client education on nutrition is very important to help the client holistically. Loss of lean body mass leads to a loss of independence, decreased quality of life, and inability to heal and recover. Characteristics of malnutrition are insufficient energy intake, weight loss, edema, decreased functional status, loss of fat, and loss of muscle mass. A client who drinks a nutritional supplement can go home 2.1 days sooner on average than a client who does not. This shows the importance of client education on how supplements can help them recover. 

An individual intervention could be helping a client who has lost muscle mass due to malnutrition strengthen up their body. Elderly clients loose an average of 10% of their muscle mass in 3 days time in an inpatient setting. OT can help slow the effects of this by getting the client up and strengthening their body, and also educating them on the importance of a diet high in protein and getting enough calories. 

A group intervention could be grocery shopping with clients who are food insecure. The group could focus on teaching clients smart grocery shopping and how to cook the food. This would fall under the IADLs of health management and maintenance, shopping, and meal prep and cleanup. 

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