Living fit and healthy: Eating and exercising over 50

Eating well can be a struggle for older people sometimes.

There are lots of different reasons why eating well can be challenging as you get older, but being undernourished – often called malnutrition – can affect your quality of life. In fact more than a million older people in the UK are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition. Most of those are living in the community.

There are plenty of red flags to look out for if you think you - or a loved one - aren't getting the right nutrients.

1. Weight loss

The most obvious sign that you aren't getting enough to eat is that you are losing weight. If you are not in the habit of weighing yourself regularly there are other ways to check. Are your clothes feeling too loose? Have you had to add another notch or two to your belt? Are rings or watches slipping off?  Perhaps your dentures are feeling loose?

"Weight loss may be gradual, over a period of time, or sudden," says Lesley Carter, senior health influencing manager at Age UK. "Rapid and unintended weight loss may be associated with a health issue, so it is important to speak to your GP or practice nurse if you are worried," adds Lesley.

There's a Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) available online which helps you work out if you are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition.

You can work out your body mass index (BMI), percentage of weight loss and other measurements which can help you establish if you or a loved one may be malnourished.

"Weight loss can be insidious and hard to spot especially if you don't weigh yourself regularly," says Alison Smith specialist dietitian and chair of the British Dietetic Association Older People's Group.

"Losing weight is not a normal part of the ageing process. It's a warning sign that your food intake has reduced or something else is going on," warns Alison.

She says to get into the habit of recording your weight weekly so you can see if you are losing weight and at what rate. It will be incredibly helpful for your GP.

2. Tiredness

Feeling tired can be a sign of inadequate nutrition. Food gives you energy so if you aren't eating enough you can feel tired and lethargic.  A diet low in iron, vitamin B12 or folate can cause anaemia which also makes you feel tired and fatigued.

"If you haven't taken on enough calories your body may be trying to conserve energy so it's keeping you still," says Alison. There are other health conditions that cause fatigue including heart disease, thyroid problems, depression and anaemia - so make an appointment to see your GP.

3. Weakness

When you aren't getting enough nutrients you may feel weak as well as tired. Lack of protein in your diet means you gradually lose muscle bulk. Muscle loss may lead you to trip or fall more easily. You may not have the strength for daily activities like housework and find it harder to climb stairs. Muscle weakness often makes you feel unsafe going out, which means you stay in and don’t do the activities that help strengthen muscles. Protein helps build muscle strength but older people need a little more in their diet for healthy muscles. Muscle loss caused by not enough protein is called sarcopenia.