Description

The book focuses on nutritive values for old age persons. Nutrition deserves special attention as people reach older age and is essential for good health. Healthy ageing is associated with physiological, cognitive, social and lifestyle changes that influence dietary intakes and nutritional status.
Older persons are particularly vulnerable to malnutrition. Moreover, attempts to provide them with adequate nutrition encounter many practical problems. First, their nutritional requirements are not well defined. Since both lean body mass and basal metabolic rate decline with age, an older person?s energy requirement per kilogram of body weight is also reduced.
The process of ageing also affects other nutrient needs. For example, while requirements for some nutrients may be reduced, some data suggest that requirements for other essential nutrients may in fact rise in later life. There is thus an urgent need to review current recommended daily nutrient allowances for this group. There is also an increasing demand worldwide for WHO guidelines which competent national authorities can use to address the nutritional needs of their growing elderly populations.