Elderly told to eat more cake!

We are always being told to cut down on sugary and fatty foods but new advice from nutrition experts sees the elderly being told to use cream instead of milk in their coffee and tea, fry instead of grill and stock up on cakes and biscuits.

The British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (Bapen) has issued the advice as part of the UK’s first malnutrition awareness week, which seeks to raise awareness of the ‘hidden’ problem of malnutrition in older people.

One in ten people aged over 65 in the UK, which equates to 1.3m, is malnourished or at risk of malnutrition.

Dr Simon Gabe, president of the British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (Bapen), said: “Malnutrition is a hidden problem in the UK, but awareness, prevention and detection are key to reducing its prevalence. For too long, the public have been given health messages focused on reducing levels of obesity and while obesity is a huge problem, for the malnourished, the best thing to do is ignore these messages entirely and seek professional advice.”

For more in formation on this story visit the Homecare website.