Nutritional Status of Elderly in India: A Review

Nutrition plays key role for wellbeing of older persons. Older persons are particularly vulnerable to malnutrition. Changes in Physiological, pathological and socio-environmental conditions are involved in the ageing process. Such factors affect nutritional needs of elderly, due to the consequence of malnutrition, under nutrition or over-nutrition and nutrient-related deficiencies. In view of its importance, it is essential to minimize the risk from inadequate dietary intake, by providing supplementary nutrition and dietary modifications. The risk of developing certain chronic diseases and conditions in the elderly population of India can be significantly reduced, and the overall quality of life can be improved, through adequate and timely nutritional intervention. While some evidence exists from the earlier studies on the benefits of nutrients and bio-additives, such as probiotics, further studies are required to bring out the best nutritional guidelines for the elderly. For identifying and monitoring the nutritional status of older adults, the nutrition screening and assessments are important. Given the rise of elderly population, studies related to the outcome of change in morbidity and nutrition transition and related socio-economic and cultural factors are very much needed for enhancing the wellbeing of the older persons in the society. The paper focuses on the review of earlier studies and analysis of secondary data on various aspects related to nutritional health of elderly and highlights the future research areas in the field of nutrition among elderly in India.