15th Mar 2017 - 09:02
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Abstract
Hospital and care home meals supplier, Apetito has urged General Practitioners to put malnutrition on their elderly patient agenda, following research that found the issue is not being discussed with GPs.
The research of 2,000 people aged between 30 and 71 with elderly parents, conducted by apetito and OnePoll, discovered 79% said their parents had not discussed malnutrition with their GP.
Helen Willis, Apetito dietitian, said: “As part of The Malnutrition Task Force we urge GPs to do more to tackle this important issue.
“Obesity is often the main focus for medical practitioners, but more attention should be given to the over shadowed problem of malnutrition.”
The survey also revealed that 42.6% of the UK population aged 30-50 are unaware about the serious nature of malnutrition in the elderly, which Apetito suggests it could mean that adult children are missing the problem in their parents.
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