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Weight Control In The
Elderly
For the young and the
middle aged, weight control is a matter of appearance first and health
second. This is not true of the elderly, where weight control can have a
huge impact on the quality of life. This is not to say that the elderly do
not care about their appearance. They do, but the health aspects of weight
are far more serious and continue to gain in importance for the elderly, as
they continue to age.
There are various factors that affect weight control in the elderly. The
physiological problems that may have developed over the years can have a
huge impact on an elderly person’s weight, but this is a purely medical
issue which will require medication and specialized treatment to get
resolved. The other reason for weight problems among seniors are an
inability for cook for themselves, difficulty in either affording or
procuring food of the right quality and type that their bodies now need or
as is most common, an ignorance of their dietary requirements now that they
are old.
Most elderly people are unaware of the changes their bodies undergo as they
age and the way it affects the absorption of nutrients by the metabolism.
Many studies have shown that a majority of the elderly are undernourished,
even if they are over weight. This contradictory situation occurs when the
food consumed is not what the body needs, but what puts on un-required
weight. This often occurs because what were acceptable food habits in a
younger person become dangerous as the person ages. This is why modifying
the diet to suit the physical changes the elderly body has undergone and is
undergoing is the key to weight control.
Here are some basic facts in connection with their eating habits which
most of the elderly do not appreciate:
-
As we age, the body
dehydrates at a faster rate requiring a greater fluid intake. The common
problem of incontinence among the elderly often causes them to reduce their
liquid intake just when they should be looking at increasing it. This leads
to thin but unhealthy bodies.
-
Iron deficiency arises from
the fact that weakened digestion is not able to extract as much iron as it
used to and the elderly do not make their diet more iron rich. Once again
the result is a thin, but weak body.
-
The medications consumed
over the years, even for a healthy person, have an accumulative effect and
alter the way our bodies are able to absorb nutrients. The result can be
seen in the elderly who eat food with a high fat content which stays in the
body, but their inability to absorb the nutrients makes the fat covered body
undernourished.
-
As the
metabolism slows
down with age, the calorie needs drop. If the elderly do not modify their
diets accordingly, they will end up with undernourished bodies that may look
healthy externally.
-
A loss or reduction in the
senses of taste and smell often results in a lack of interest in food which
leads to weakness and undernourishment.
-
A fear of physical injury
often leads to an overcautious approach to even the basic exercise
requirements which results in an impaired digestive system. This could cause
even those who eat properly to be either under nourished or to be over
weight, depending on the nature of the problem.
Many of the elderly think
that weight problems – either being under or over weight – are a normal part
of the aging process and accept it as inevitable. They have seen their
parents and grandparents go through the same thing and take it as part of
the natural scheme of things. What they do not realize is that today, we
have a far greater understanding of the human body and the aging process
than existed even a generation ago and what was considered inevitable then
is no longer so.
What is important is for the elderly to be educated on their changing
dietary requirements and the need to modify their dietary habits. This is
not as simple as it sounds. Firstly the elderly are often set in their ways
and are unwilling to change. And secondly there is a lack of appreciation of
the consequences of not controlling their weight. Part of this is often
psychological. To admit to oneself that eating the four slices of pizza one
ate when one was 25, is, for many people, an admission of loss- the loss of
their youth, the loss of their abilities, and the loss of a long term
future.
It is for this reason that weight control among the elderly needs to be
taken up not a purely a physical issue but as a psychological one also.
Telling the elderly what to do is often ineffective - it’s not that they do
not understand; it is often that they do not want to. Explaining the problem
of being over or underweight in objective terms and by making general
statements is often better than a direct personal approach.
Of course, weight control problems in the elderly can occur due to
undiagnosed medical issues, whether age related or not. With the onset of
the aging process, especially in those over the age of 65, it is common to
take aches, pains, insomnia or excessive sleep,
digestive disorders and
other such things as a matter of course. While these are common symptom of
aging, there may be an underlying cause that is overlooked because the
problem is taken for granted. These physiological problems, if undetected,
will not only progress rapidly in the
elderly body which has a low level of
resistance, but may also cause weight control issues which can cause a
completely different set of health problems among the elderly.
In the end, the issue of weight control for the elderly is not just one of
diet and exercise. It is a question of lifestyle and the need for the
elderly to understand their dietary and exercise needs. But beyond that it
is important for them to be given a vision of how weight problems affects
the quality of their lives and how much better off and happier they would
be, both physically and mentally, if they took the dietary and exercise
steps need to keep their weight under control.
Exercising for Senior Citizens During
Aging Process
Source for article:
http://www.boomers-with-elderly-parents.com/elderly-parents-nutrition-weight.html
http://www.imsersomayores.csic.es/documentos/boletin/2005/numero-29/art-05-08-01.pdf
You must seek approval from your doctor
before starting any new diet.
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