Supporting healthy ageing with everyday nutrition

Healthy ageing is the process of developing and maintaining functional ability in older age.1

While changes in body systems are a part of healthy ageing, the risk of experiencing poor outcomes can be reduced with healthy behaviours such as maintaining good nutrition.

The changing nutritional needs as we get older, coupled with decreases in appetite can make it difficult for older people to meet their nutritional requirements.2 In fact, as many as 20-30 per cent of elderly Australians living in the community are considered malnourished.3

Supporting nutrition throughout life is recommended to ensure that good nutrition is maintained into older age.

Pharmacists are well placed to assist in screening patients for malnutrition, and assist with dietary changes that are recommended by a dietitian. This may include the addition of oral nutritional supplements into their diet, many of which are stocked in pharmacies.

Guild Learning and Development, in partnership with Abbott Nutrition, has developed a new online course to support pharmacists in assisting their patients with their nutrition, titled: Supporting healthy ageing with everyday nutrition. Pharmacists interested in nutrition should also watch out for an upcoming podcast on the Pharmacy Business and Career Network Podcast channel.

Guild Learning and Development would like to thank Abbott Nutrition for its financial and subject matter expertise assistance in developing this education package. To enrol in this course please visit guilded.guild.org.au

Contact Guild Learning and Development on 1800 049 056 or email learninganddevelopment@guild.org.au for more information.

1. Sims J. Healthy ageing. Australian Family Physican vol.46, no.1–2, Jan–Feb 2017
2. Robinson SM. Improving nutrition to support healthy ageing: what are the opportunities for intervention?. Proc Nutr Soc. 2018;77(3):257-264.
3. Rist, G., Miles, G. and Karimi, L. (2012) ‘The presence of malnutrition in community-living older adults receiving home nursing services’, Nutrition & Dietetics, 69(1), 46-50.

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