Suggested CDR learning codes: 5000, 5020, 5030, 5040, 5050; Level 2

Instructor Becky Dorner discovered her 89-year-old mother’s unhealthy eating patterns while visiting her for a week. Her mother has dementia, so she munches when she’s hungry and can’t remember when it’s mealtime. She doesn’t remember how to use the microwave to heat a meal, nor does she remember that she had a lunch date planned with her daughter in just 10 minutes. Thus, she’s full of bananas and granola bars when Becky arrives, with no room for a healthful lunch.

Unfortunately, this is a familiar story for many families who care for older adults striving to live independently at home, and the negative consequences of poor nutrition in this population can be rapid and substantial. Food and nutrition insecurity and diminished ability to prepare healthful meals coupled with food-medication interactions, anorexia, gastrointestinal issues, poor dentition, and difficulty chewing and swallowing can create complications such as unintended weight loss, malnutrition, sarcopenia, and frailty that lead to hospitalization and the risk of institutionalization.

If used early, simple nutrition interventions can keep people living independently longer—and isn’t that what most people want?