Geriatric Nutrition PDF

Preface

Food is essential to life. Absent adequate nutrition, depletion in both fat and fat-free mass leads to detrimental effects on an individual's health, ultimately progressing to death. Moreover, coexisting disease causes catastrophic effects on nutritional health, and poor nutritional health leads to acute and chronic disease. The magnitude of nutritional depletion from any cause depends to a large extent on the nutrient reservoir accumulated over time in each individual. In our increasingly older population, nutritional health is more marginal and the magnitude of the effect on nutritional health is amplified.

In this comprehensive text, normal nutrition, pathological nutrition, and optimal nutrition are carefully examined by a group of outstanding experts in the field. From these experts, a substantial difference in nutritional health in older individuals compared to younger persons emerges. The strategies to improve nutritional health in older individuals require unique approaches, are often frustrating, and require sensitivity to each individual's needs and belief system.

We commend to you the work of the authors of this book. We believe that you will both find basic knowledge and explore exciting new ideas in this volume, just as we did in reading the chapters. The text and chapters have been expanded and clarified with the aim to produce a state-of-the-art review of current nutritional thinking. To all of those who deal with nutritional health, whether as family, nutritional educators, dietitians, gerontologists, or geriatricians, we anticipate that this book will be useful in furthering our understanding of nutrition in older persons.