Factsheets

Healthy Eating & Portions

As we get older, nutrition becomes increasingly more important. It helps us to maintain health and physical function. A healthy diet can reduce the risk of developing chronic conditions or help us manage them better. Diet and physical activity together help to keep us healthy and active.This chapter will present some healthy tips on balancing your ...

Managing Nutrition with Dementia & Alzheimer’s

Many things can change in a person’s life when they are diagnosed and progress through dementia and Alzheimer’s. Mealtimes can become more significant as it provides an opportunity to have some control and make choices in addition to helping with orientation to time and place. Mealtime structure has positive benefits to nutritional and ment...

Managing Nutrition with Dysphagia in Older Age

Dysphagia (also known as oropharyngeal dysphagia) is the name given to a disorder of the swallowing process that prevents safe passage of food or fluid from the mouth to the stomach. It is not a disease but is often a symptom of an underlying condition. Dysphagia can happen at any age but the elderly and those with chronic health conditions are mor...

Bowel Health in Older Age

The bowel is at the heart of an individual’s digestion and nutrition and so supporting a healthy bowel is vital to overall health and wellbeing. As we age, the bowel — like many other areas of the body — can start to slow down, leading to an increase in instances of constipation. Bowel movements may also be affected by other conditions, such...

Malnutrition in Older Age

Malnutrition can be a serious problem among older people and can have many negative health impacts. It often presents itself with acute and chronic illness, but can also happen insidiously as we age. Early detection and intervention is vital in order to minimise its negative effects. This fact sheet aims to help you identify signs and symptoms of m...

Bone and Joint Health in Older Age

Our bones are always changing in response to the environment and the way we live our lives. From our mid 30s onwards, bones naturally start to lose calcium and can begin to weaken. In addition to the risk of osteoporosis, it is possible to develop other bone related health issues such as osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. The following informa...

Managing Nutrition with Diabetes in Older Age

We all experience changes to our bodies due to aging that are largely out of our control. However, we can make a variety of positive lifestyle changes, including changing diet, which will help to control mature onset of Type 2 Diabetes. This info sheet will look exclusively at Type 2 Diabetes as it is more common in older people, who are the target...

Heart Health in Older Age

This fact sheet will focus on specific ways to support heart health. It is best to first read our fact sheet on Healthy Eating & Portions because this builds on that and focuses on reducing saturated fat, increasing fish intake and other dietary factors that are important for those suffering from heart disease....

Increasing Calorie Intake

When an individual is malnourished or at risk of unhealthy weight loss, it is important to increase calorie intake. Malnutrition can be a serious problem among older people and can have many negative health impacts. It often presents itself with acute and chronic illness, but can also happen insidiously as we age. Early detection and intervention i...