5 Tips if Your Senior’s Appetite Is Shrinking
Home Care: Are you noticing that your senior’s appetite seems to be nonexistent anymore?
You probably aren’t imagining things. Often older adults start to have trouble being interested in eating, and this can quickly lead to issues like malnutrition. Having home care on hand to help keep an eye on things is a good idea.
Focus on Offering Regular Meals
Sticking with regular mealtimes can be an important factor in making sure your senior still gets the nutrients that she needs. She may not be hungry but having a set mealtime and seeing food may spark a bit more of an appetite than she expects. Make a deal with your senior about how much you would like for her to at least try during each meal.
Reconsider Portion Sizes
Often a large portion size is intimidating if someone isn’t in the mood to eat. The same is definitely true for your senior if she’s been battling diminished appetite. Offering her smaller portion sizes gives her a chance to sample dishes without feeling compelled to eat more than she truly wants. Knowing that she always has the option to eat more helps.
Talk to Your Senior about Food Texture
Something that people often don’t realize can be an issue is food texture. If your elderly family member is experiencing other issues, like trouble chewing or swallowing, then food texture is an important factor to address. Finding new ways to manage food textures is something that senior care at home can help you with.
Look at Other Ways to Make Meals More Interesting
It’s also a good idea to look at other ways to make meals more interesting for your senior. Perhaps the issue isn’t as much appetite as it is that meals just aren’t stimulating at all for her, even emotionally. If you’re not able to eat with her, then having senior care providers there to not only assist with meals but to offer companionship is powerful. Senior care at home can address so many difficulties.
Talk with Her Doctor
Don’t forget to talk to your senior’s doctor as well if she continues to have issues with her appetite. There may be problems that her doctor can address for her, that allow her to enjoy eating again. If there are health issues or medication problems, it’s vital that they get addressed as promptly as possible. This is a step you don’t want to overlook.
Appetite problems are something that your senior can’t afford to ignore for long. They can quickly lead to other issues that are much larger in scope.