WATERLOO Malnutrition is a big problem among older adults that can lead to serious health problems and steady decline in ability if they dont adopt a healthier diet, a University of Waterloo researcher says.

Older adults need more nutrients than we think and catching it early is key, said Heather Keller, a registered dietitian and Schlegel research chair in nutrition and aging at the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging.

Keller will share her expertise in senior nutrition at a free public lecture on Wednesday at the Kitchener Market from 4 to 5:30 p.m. She will provide information on nutrient needs and useful strategies and resources.

Keller works with older adults in the community as well as families and practitioners to share her knowledge on the importance of a healthy diet and how to ensure elderly people are getting enough essential nutrients. She developed a simple questionnaire to identify where older adults are doing well and where improvement is needed ( http://www.eatrightontario.ca/escreen).

Older adults think theyre doing fine, Keller said.

Yet often theyve slipped into bad habits, such as skipping meals. Snacking, and weight loss can follow. Thats a problem because older adults primarily lose muscle and not fat, increasing the risk of balance problems and falls.

Nutrition needs change as a person ages because their body doesnt process nutrients in the same way, making healthy eating essential to prevent and manage health conditions but also more complicated.

Older adults dont realize they need more nutrition in less calories, said Keller, who is now studying how to improve nutrition in long-term care homes.

Although its commonly known elderly people need more calcium, other nutrients need to be boosted to protect health. Vitamin D, for instance, is often lacking in older adults because skin changes affect the ability to make the vitamin through sun exposure. Substantially more protein is needed to maintain muscle mass.

Older adults soon show the effects of poor nutrition because they dont have the same reserves as young adults, who can quickly recover from a bout of bad eating. Possible health effects include osteoporosis, loss of function, cognition issues, including early onset dementia, delirium and balance problems.

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Good nutrition essential to protect health of elderly people