Malnutrition and nutrition in the community

The importance of good nutrition for our overall health and in the prevention (and even the reversal) of disease tends to be somewhat overlooked in modern-day society. Its role only takes on further importance among older people living in the community, where frailty can often be seen as a ‘normal’ part of ageing, rather than a sign of a risk that should be addressed with appropriate intervention.

It has been estimated that 93% of the 3 million people in the UK who are at risk of being under- or malnourished reside in community settings and nearly half are aged over 65 years (British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, 2009). As people age and eat less, they are consuming fewer nutrients and the quality of their nutrition becomes ever more important to prevent loss of muscle mass leading to frailty (Boulos et al, 2016), disease and even mortality (Soderstrom et al, 2017).