A Brief Intervention for Malnutrition among Older Adults: Stepping Up Your Nutrition

Abstract

Despite a multitude of nutritional risk factors among older adults, there is a lack of community-based programs and activities that screen for malnutrition and address modifiable risk among this vulnerable population. Given the known association of protein and fluid consumption with fall-related risk among older adults and the high prevalence of falls among Americans age 65 years and older each year, a brief intervention was created. Stepping Up Your Nutrition (SUYN) is a 2.5 h workshop developed through a public/private partnership to motivate older adults to reduce their malnutrition risk. The purposes of this naturalistic workshop dissemination were to: (1) describe the SUYN brief intervention; (2) identify participant characteristics associated with malnutrition risk; and (3) identify participant characteristics associated with subsequent participation in Stepping On (SO), an evidence-based fall prevention program. Data were analyzed from 429 SUYN participants, of which 38% (n = 163) subsequently attended SO. As measured by the SCREEN II®, high and moderate malnutrition risk scores were reported among approximately 71% and 20% of SUYN participants, respectively. Of the SUYN participants with high malnutrition risk, a significantly larger proportion attended a subsequent SO workshop (79.1%) compared to SUYN participants who did not proceed to SO (65.8%) (χ2 = 8.73, p = 0.013). Findings suggest SUYN may help to identify malnutrition risk among community-dwelling older adults and link them to needed services like evidence-based programs. Efforts are needed to expand the delivery infrastructure of SUYN to reach more at-risk older adults.

Malnutrition screening and diagnosis tools: Implications for practice

“…For this review, malnutrition will be defined as a lack of adequate nutrients to meet the body's needs and referred to as protein‐calorie malnutrition (PCM). Reduced oral intake, hypermetabolism caused by chronic disease states, and malabsorption are common causes of PCM 1,2 . PCM is frequently observed in developing nations, but it is also extremely prevalent in hospitalized patients, including those whose body weight exceeds commonly used weight standards.…”

Practical Solutions to Address COVID-19-Related Mental and Physical Health Challenges Among Low-Income Older Adults

“…While malnutrition is generally considered to be an important issue for older adults ( 84 , 85 ), it has continued to be a common occurrence during the pandemic ( 4 ). Older adults have experienced undernutrition, such as skipping meals due to food insecurity, as well as an overconsumption of unhealthy foods, such as sugar and saturated fats ( 4 ).…”

Untangling Malnutrition, Physical Dysfunction, Sarcopenia, Frailty and Cachexia in Ageing

“…Meals on Wheels) [49]. Individuals with poor nutrition knowledge are at greater risk to develop malnutrition [50]; hence nutritional education has the potential to improve nutritional status although knowledge does not necessarily translate in healthy eating habits [51]. Helping with meal planning and use of social programmes during mealtimes may positively influence meal choices.…”