Nutritional Issues of Older People in Primary Care

Abstract

Nutritional problems are common in older people. In particular, malnutrition is very frequent and associated with several negative health outcomes. Therefore, the screening of malnutrition through validated tools is mandatory in this population. Weight loss is another common condition in older people and may indicate reversible or not reversible causes: the early diagnosis of weight loss is mandatory for starting the correct diagnostic pathways. The first treatment of weight loss is to treat the cause, if possible. Then, the use of dietary recommendations and nutritional supplementations is of importance. In this chapter, we will discuss how nutritional status should be assessed in older adults, the management of malnutrition, the most common treatments of weight loss, obesity in older individuals, and the role of general practitioners (GPs) in nutritional issues affecting older people.