Low Weight in Community-dwelling Older Adults

Conclusion. Nutritional risk is prevalent in community-living older adults who live in three counties on the West Coast of U.S. This study adds the following new information to Gerontological care: (a) it is apparent that most elders are weighed at each office visit to a health care provider (see Table 1) which would enable the monitoring of weight loss trends and the use of a screening tool to identify those at high risk for weight loss; (b) those who have trouble traveling outside the home and those who self report having an illness or condition that changed the kind and/or amount of food eaten should be assessed more frequently and screened for further weight loss; and (c) nutritional problems can result from highly individualized interactions (physiological, economic, and psychosocial). Targeting interventions to these behaviors and risk factors may improve nutritional status and overall health of these elders.