Overcoming Malnutrition and Involuntary Weight Loss

There are many reasons why people can’t get the proper nutrition, which puts them at risk of malnutrition. Many people, especially the elderly, suffer from malnutrition and unintentional weight loss because they eat a nutritionally incomplete or insufficient diet.

It can also be difficult to get the proper nutrition if you’re suffering from dysphagia, going through chemotherapy or radiation treatment for cancer, fighting an infection, or recovering from trauma or surgery. Certain medications can cause food to taste metallic and unappetizing. People undergoing dialysis are often challenged by malnutrition. And some diseases cause the body to absorb nutrients poorly, or force patients onto very restricted diets. Depression too can lead to disinterest in food and a lack of will to eat, and dementia can cause people to forget meals–experts call this cluster of problems “aging anorexia.”

Malnutrition and unintentional weight loss contribute to a progressive decline in people’s health. Poor nutrition can cause reduced mental and physical functioning, make people more apt to require medical care and institutionalization, and increase the risk of dying early. Sixteen percent of Americans over 65 who live in communities–retirement homes, assisted living, or nursing homes–consume fewer than 1000 calories a day, which puts them at a high risk for malnutrition. Up to half of the hospitalized elderly suffer from malnutrition, as well as up to 60% of those who are institutionalized.*

At Hormel Health Labs, we’re working to help people who are elderly or suffering from illness get the nutrition they need. We offer many products that are delicious and deliver the protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals that are necessary components of every diet, and sorely needed by those with malnutrition and involuntary weight loss.