NUTRITION OF THE ELDERLY - A CHALLENGE BETWEEN FACTS AND NEEDS

Interactions between nutrition and the ageing process are a fascinatin g field of research. The assessment of the nutritional status is an im portant part of medical examination. Generally it is assumed that ener gy intake and energy expenditure decrease with age. In fact they vary widely and are very different in healthy, in sick or in institutionali zed elderly. Nutritional requirements depend on many social and physio logical factors in the free-living elderly population. Surveys indicat e that dietary requirements are qualitatively grossly comparable to th ose in middle-aged adults. However the elderly are particularly at ris k of marginal deficiencies of vitamins and trace elements. Today the e arly recognition of malnutrition is an important challenge. Its preven tion may influence the evolution of nonspecific intercurrent disease a nd restore immunocompetence. Another challenge is to promote health by adequate recommendations in order to prevent deficiency diseases and to increase longevity. Some studies suggest that nutrition-based preve ntive medicine remains useful in the elderly. Caloric restriction, wei ght loss in case of obesity, decrease in blood lipids, increase in cal cium intake which depend mainly of prior nutritional habits may have a n effect in the elderly. However, prevention of protein caloric malnut rition is more relevant in the elderly.