Frailty and food From the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, I’m Nicholas Garlow with HHS HealthBeat. A study
indicates that people who are frail are five times more likely
than those who are not frail to report not having enough to eat.
Researchers used the National Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey, looking at adults, 60 and older. Ellen Smit, at Oregon
State University, led the study. “We can try and make sure that
people who are frail have access to food.” Half of the
participants in the study were either frail or “pre-frail,”
meaning they were at risk for decreased physical function. “We
can do something to try and prevent pre-frailty from becoming
frail and people who are not frail from being pre-frail, perhaps
some kind of an intervention through exercise as well as
nutrition.” The study in the British Journal of Nutrition was
supported by the National Institutes of Health. Learn more at
healthfinder.gov. HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Service