In France, 450,000 seniors are undernourished, which represents 1 in 10 people over 80 years old. Undernutrition is the first cause of falls, memory loss and very quickly autonomy. A vicious circle sets in that cannot be broken without outside intervention. This is the role of children and grandchildren.
66% of French people think, wrongly, that it is normal to eat less when you are old, and normal to lose weight! and almost as many – 60% – of physicians believe the same.
IT is true that there is a rule that is taught in all medical schools: reducing physical activity has a consequence that everyone agrees on: the machine needs less fuel.
But if the real reason is bad dental condition, isolation, the unhappiness of living which is also called depression, or simply less and less glowing finances, weight loss is no longer physiological. therefore normal and then takes the name of undernutrition.
And undernutrition is a bit like a candle that we put in a draft, even a very light one. It always ends up dying out! Undernutrition has consequences on the functioning of the main organs, but it is also the first cause of falls, memory loss and very quickly autonomy. A vicious circle sets in that cannot be broken without outside intervention
The severity of this undernutrition is still underestimated
Almost 40% of doctors admit that they “only sometimes” weigh their patients aged over 70!
On the family side, but also that of the elderly, misconceptions are still well rooted: It is therefore essential to inform doctors, the general public and more particularly the elderly about the risks and consequences of ignored undernutrition, especially the summer when dehydration increases the risk.
For children and toddlers there is a check, to be done among older people, which is not mistaken: An empty refrigerator … or full of expired products are among the most revealing signs.
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