The Importance of Nutrition and Diet in Old Age: The Role of the Dietitian

Abstract

Nutrition plans and dietary arrangements in old ages are the most neglected issues compared to all other age groups. Whereas, in prallel with the technological developments which allow rising to effective treatment approaches and the spread of birth control applications resulting the decline in the fertility rate, the elderly population has started to increase with unexpected speed. If the current pace continues, for the first time in human history, by 2050, the number of individials over the age of 60 will exceed the number of children in the world. ESPEN emphasizes that with the inrease in the number of people over the age of 100 across Europe, there are many tragic problems on the axis of both the healthy and those with many health problems. This naturally increases the need for dietitian support in nutrition planning and diet regulation for the elderly. Dietetic associations federations such as ICDA, EFAD and AFDA have begun to provide dietetians specific reports for nutrition plans and dietary adjustments accordingly. In today’s editorial comments and recommendations for dietitians working in Turkey are expressed within the framework of these reports and research articles on this subject.