Malnutrition aggravates Alzheimers condition

A new report has revealed that many people suffering from Alzheimer's and similar diseases experience deterioration due to malnutrition and lack of care.

It was also found in the report, launched by the National Association of Care Catering (NACC) and published as part of Community Meals Week (11- 17 October 2010), that malnutrition was a risk factor for one in ten of older people in the UK. This shocking situation forces many older people into residential care.

Furthermore there is a lack of uniformity in standard measures, meaning that an older person has to be lucky to obtain the services he or she needs. To address this growing problem there is a call on the Government from the NACC and The British Dietetic Association to support a new standard in community meals.

A comment from Andrew Chidgey of the Alzheimers' Society says: "We all know how important a balanced diet is for maintaining good health. This is especially true for people with dementia. Malnutrition can have a serious impact on the symptoms of dementia and general well-being, potentially resulting in a person needing avoidable hospital admission or residential care earlier.

As well as being distressing for the person and their family, malnutrition and poor care create huge and unnecessary costs for already stretched health and social care systems. Supporting people to live well in the community can help relieve this financial burden and hugely improve quality of life. Good nutrition must be at the heart of this care."

Meanwhile, exercise is as important as nutrition in avoiding the onset of Alzheimer's and other memory problems in older people. According to research published in the online issue of Neurology on 13 October the risks of developing these conditions can be much reduced by walking more than six miles a week.

The study upon which this conclusion was based involved 299 adults around 70 who were asked how far they walked each week. It was found nine years later that older people in this age group who walked between six and nine miles each week had greater grey matter volume than those who walked less. A comment from the Alzheimer's Society said that maintaining a healthy heart contributed to the functioning of a healthy brain.

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