Elderly men in hostels beg for more
Elderly men living in aged-care hostels are being forced to beg staff for extra food because they are not served enough at meal times. Others are regularly given party pies or cocktail frankfurts as a main meal because there is not enough money to provide full meals, a Monash University study has found.
A report in the Sydney Morning Herald says researchers at Monash University found meal sizes at the 14 hostels studied, too small for most men, none included enough vegetables, 65% of residents showed signs of under-nutrition and a third were not being fed enough protein, which is vital for muscle and brain cell maintenance.
Their intake of calcium, magnesium, folate, zinc and fibre was also too low and most meals contained too much saturated fat.
Researcher, Julie Woods, a lecturer in nutrition and dietetics, said 103 residents were studied and only 11 showed no signs of under-nutrition. Dairy products were limited to small servings of milk and cheese, fruit was served on most days but vegetable portions were too small to meet recommended daily requirements.
“And on the days where they are served party pies or crumpets for dinner, there are no vegetables at all,” she said.
The study will be published in the Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging.
