Weight loss in the elderly is a frequent issue, and may raise their risk of various ailments and consequences. Stress, health difficulties, drugs, and lack of appetite may all cause elderly persons to lose weight. If you're concerned your loved one is losing too much weight, here are some suggestions to help them regain their weight.
Finding your senior home care may help them relax and encourage them to eat more. Only some seniors have the energy or ability to make their own meals, and this may impact the amount they're eating. Understanding why they're not eating or have lost weight is the first step in making the right change. Finding the root cause of the problem will be your best step. This may also mean your senior loved one needs to go to the doctor to find the answers.
Help Make Meals Look More Appealing
A bland meal will not stimulate eating in a senior suffering from a lack of appetite. According to a study, many experts advocate making meals more entertaining by serving brightly colored foods, which promote hunger. Consider snacks, tablecloths, or red, orange, or yellow dishes. You may also try new meals or creative food arrangements.
Think About Dishes That Can Be Easier to Eat
Many older people do not eat enough, because they cannot eat as well as they formerly did. Using utensils becomes more difficult, and bigger chunks of food are harder to chew and swallow, posing a choking hazard. Try cutting their meal into bite-sized pieces, using bigger and easier-to-handle flatware, and serving softer foods such as soups and stews. If you need assistance with grocery shopping or preparing nutritious, easy-to-eat meals, home care may help with shopping, cooking, and even feeding if necessary.
Ask What Their Favorite Meals Are and Make Them
Few individuals would refuse a beloved cuisine, which may be the key to assisting your loved one in gaining weight. If your loved one has dietary limitations that prohibit him or her from enjoying a favorite meal, try using cauliflower, zucchini noodles, honey instead of sugar, and Greek yogurt instead of mayo or sour cream.
Understand What Supplemental Nutrition Is
Your elderly loved one may be eating enough, but not receiving enough nourishment from food alone. If you're worried, consider including nutritious shakes in their regular diet. These are simple and delightful to drink, include various critical nutrients, and give some extra calories.
Nothing is more essential than your senior loved one's health, and home care can guarantee that your loved one spends their golden years happy, well, and safe. If nothing helps your senior maintain a healthy weight, then it is time to drive them to a doctor. There may be something other than food causing the problems. Sometimes, it can be because of medication, and other times it could be due to an underlying illness that has not yet been treated. Often, it takes a team of professionals to properly care for your senior throughout their lives.
