Malnutrition in Older People

Malnutrition is an important health issue in people of all ages. For children, it is a risk for hindering normal growth and development, and in pregnancy it affects both mother and child, leading to low birth weight. In old age, malnutrition is a risk leading to the need for care, or endangers life through a person becoming bedridden or affected with pneumonia (Fig. 13.1) [1]. To maintain a proper state of nutrition, required nutrients must be eaten, and obtaining food is the first step. Food intake and malnutrition are affected by income and household economy. In the results of studies in infants and children not only in developing countries in Africa and Asia but also in developed countries in Europe and America, it has been reported that there is more malnutrition in children of parents in lower-income strata than higher-income strata [1]. For example, in a 2010 survey in Iran, a clear relationship was observed between socioeconomic status (SES) and stunting as a result of malnutrition, with a stunting frequency of 17.4% in children under 5 years in the poorest socioeconomic quintile compared to 6.4% in the richest [2].