Nutrition in the elderly

Foods choice is influenced by a wide variety of variables, including finance and socio-economic status. However it is also influenced by the perceived ability to chew foods. If an individual has difficulty chewing a particular type of food then they do not choose to buy that food giving limitation of foods choice. Masticatory efficiency is influenced by the numbers of natural teeth present in the mouth. Subjects with few or no natural teeth choose a diet that is characterised by low levels of consumption of fruits and vegetables and increased consumption of fats and sugars. This pattern is present in all age cohorts with significant levels of edentulousness. In addition there is evidence of changes in foods choice and foods preparation in people who have significant levels of tooth extraction in longitudinal follow-up. These changes in dietary choice reduce consumption of non-starch polysaccharides and also micronutrients associated with fruits and vegetables. There is some evidenc from the UK that these reductions are at levels which could produce increased risk of deficiency states particularly in populations living in institutional care This pattern of diet and dietary change also places subjects at increased risk of a variety of systemic disease including cardiovascular disease and malignancy, and may pose problems for the management of subjects with diabetes.