Nutrition and the life cycle 5: nutritional needs of older adults.

The previous four articles in this series on nutrition and the life cycle reviewed the nutritional needs during pregnancy (Vol 9(17): 1133-8), infancy (Vol 9(21): 2205-16), childhood (Vol 10(1): 26-31) and adulthood (Vol 10(6): 362-9). This article, the last in the series, will review the special nutritional needs of the older person. Older adults form an increasing proportion of our society, and it is important that nurses appreciate their special needs. The article concentrates on the health older adult, and reviews what nutritional advice nurses should be providing order to help them achieve maximal health.