Anorexia of Aging - Thu, 10/6/11 - 4:04pm - 0 Comments - 6857
reads Annals of Long-Term Care: Clinical Care and Aging.
19(10):18-24. Angela Champion, BSN, RN As people age, they
become less active and normal physiologic changes cause a shift
in body composition, with an increase in proportion of body fat
and a decrease in lean muscle mass and extracellular fluid
mass.1 The body typically responds to the decrease in energy
needs with a desire for fewer calories. This predisposes older
adults to anorexia of aging, a syndrome associated with
unplanned weight loss and protein-energy malnutrition (PEM).2,3
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) defines
significant unplanned or undesired weight loss as a 5% decline
in body weight over 1 month, 7.5% over 3 months, and 10% over 6
months (Table 1).4 Various physiologic, pathologic, psychologic,
and sociologic factors (eg, depression, loss of social networks,
chronic illness, medications) increase the risk of anorexia of
aging and resultant malnutrition. Al