Eda MURAT* and Ayşe GÜNEŞ BAYIR

Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Bezmialem Vakif University, Istanbul, Turkey

*Corresponding Author: Eda MURAT, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Bezmialem Vakif University, Istanbul, Turkey.

Received: April 28, 2023; Published: May 12, 2023

Abstract

The concepts of “old age” and “aging” are concepts that are frequently used in the fields of gerontology and geriatrics and are often confused with each other. Aging is a process with biological, chronological and social aspects that cannot be prevented. Aging is seen in all living things and is a natural and inevitable period of life such as childhood, youth and adulthood. The elderly population increases by about 5% per year in developed and developing countries. There is an increase in life expectancy after birth with a decrease in mortality and fertility; While the proportion of children and young people in the population is decreasing, the percentage of the elderly is increasing. Today, the highest number of elderly people live in China with 106 million. As we age, there are significant changes in bodily functions. These changes affect the individual's daily life, working life, addiction status and communication with the environment. It is important to understand whether the changes that occur in elderly individuals are pathological or not, to distinguish between changes due to aging and changes due to chronic diseases, in order to prevent erroneous diagnoses, unnecessary tests and treatments. Adequate and balanced nutrition in old age is important in terms of increasing the quality of life. During this period, nutrients are consumed insufficiently and the rate of use of nutrients in the body is lower. Therefore, many elderly people may suffer from micronutrient deficiencies. The purpose of elderly nutrition; intake of macro (carbohydrate, protein, fat) and micro (vitamin, mineral) nutrients needed daily, meeting the necessary fluid needs, preventing the formation of chronic diseases, protecting, improving and developing health. In the diets of the elderly; energy and macro-micronutrient requirements, nutritional habits, diseases, lifestyles, physical activity levels and drugs they use should also be taken into consideration. The aim of this review is to reveal the nutrition style that should be applied in elderly individuals according to current approaches.

Keywords:Aging; Chronic Diseases; Elderly People; Nutrition; Macro-Micronutrients

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Citation

Citation: Eda MURAT and Ayşe GÜNEŞ BAYIR. “Nutritional Approaches in Geriatric Period". Acta Scientific Nutritional Health 7.6 (2023): 33-36.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2023 Eda MURAT and Ayşe GÜNEŞ BAYIR. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.