Nutrition is the foundation of old age health
China has become the country with the largest elderly population in the world, and population aging has become a major social problem in my country. How to improve the health of the elderly has become a concern of the whole society. In this regard, Professor Wang Jianye, MD, director of the National Geriatrics Center of Beijing Hospital, chairman of the Chinese Medical Association Geriatrics Branch, and MD, gave an answer.
We need to improve nutritional risk screening and strengthen nutrition for the elderly at nutritional risk. There is a misunderstanding in the public’s cognition of nutrition. They think that if you eat well, there will be fewer nutritional problems. According to statistics, the incidence of nutritional risk in hospitalized elderly people in my country exceeds half, and the prevalence of malnutrition is 1/3. The reason is that the elderly have many underlying diseases and reduce food intake during treatment, which will increase the nutritional risk and prevalence of malnutrition in the elderly, leading to Decreased immunity, slow wound healing, and prolonged hospital stay.
Malnutrition is a disease state caused by nutritional imbalances. The most common malnutrition is “thin”, with very little muscle. Insufficient energy protein nutrition leads to malnutrition. Therefore, the elderly need to supplement energy protein nutrition to meet the needs of the body and enhance skeletal muscle to improve physical function; “fat” also belongs to Malnutrition is caused by excess nutrition. Inadequate intake of micronutrients can also cause malnutrition.
In addition, nutritional therapy is also the basis of geriatric treatment. Because of improved nutrition, it helps patients to produce autoantibodies and enhance immunity. Enteral nutrition is the preferred route of nutritional therapy. Improving nutrition is not only the treatment but also the basic support for the treatment of the primary disease. For example, after surgery, the nutritional status of the elderly is improved, and the wound heals faster. Improving nutrition can also improve the physical fitness of older adults. Elderly people with nutritional risk need to receive continuous nutritional therapy after hospitalization and discharge.
Wang Jianye, Director, National Geriatrics Center, Beijing Hospital
Health Times Network