The elderly are still appropriately "fat" point good experts give nutritional prescriptions

As the saying goes, "it is difficult to buy the old to be thin", but experts in the Geriatric Department of Peking University People's Hospital suggest that this does not mean that the elderly should "eat less meat and eat more vegetables" for three meals a day, or even only eat small dishes

● Status Quo ●

20% of the elderly have skeletal myotropia

Han Ping is 88 years old this year, with a thin body, and will insist on playing a piece of eight duan jin every day

At the first sight of Han Ping, Wei Yanan, deputy chief physician of the Department of Geriatrics of Peking University People's Hospital, had the impression that she was "thin", and her body mass index (BMI) was only 18, which was too light

After a detailed understanding of her eating habits, Wei Yanan found that Han Ping not only ate less total food per meal, but also had a low level of protein intake, so she suggested that she "add meals" between every two meals and supplement whey protein

An old man with a similar situation to Han Ping, Wei Yanan can often encounter

A 78-year-old hypertension patient that Wei Yanan just received was also thin, and she did not fall behind in buying vegetables, cooking rice, and doing housework on weekdays, and she was responsible for

Liu Peng, director of the Clinical Nutrition Department of Peking University People's Hospital, said that the elderly can be appropriately "fat"

Normal people have skeletal muscle that makes up about 40% of their body weight, and most people develop muscle loss

● Reminder ●

"Fat skinny" and "skinny fat" should be vigilant

However, in Liu Peng's eyes, "fat" and "thin" are not just judged

Wang Hongjun, who is over seventy years old, is fatter, but he has always thought that "too thin to bear the disease", unwilling to control his weight, and not aware of the hidden problems

"Fat, means nutrition can keep up, I don't lose weight

Liu Peng first asked him to do a test

Usually, Wang Hongjun's diet is mainly high-carbon water, "if you don't eat more staple food in a meal, this meal is like not eating

Yuan Hui is at the other extreme

"Fat skinny" and "skinny fat", both of which are not good for health, require fat loss and muscle

"Dietary surveys are a special feature of the nutrition department, and it is closely related to the personalized nutrition prescriptions we finally

Liu Peng prescribed nutrition to the two elderly people to increase their daily protein intake and remind them to increase physical activity appropriately and avoid sitting
for a long time.
Three months after the implementation of the rules, both of them brought good news
one after another.
Wang Hongjun lost 15 pounds of weight, and the visceral fat was significantly reduced; Yuan Hui gained more than 10 pounds, fatigue and weakness and other symptoms improved significantly, and her body's metabolic condition also improved
.
What's more, both have different degrees of muscle mass.

● Recipes ●

Fish, poultry, eggs and milk should be up to standard for each meal

"Nutrition clinics may not be well known, but in fact, all diseases, sub-health conditions, and even just the need to improve in shape are related to
nutrition.
" Usually, Liu Peng often participates in multidisciplinary consultations in the hospital, and Wei Yanan is one of his good partners, treating chronic diseases of the elderly while also adjusting his physical state
through diet.

Not long ago, the two just consulted for an octogenarian with diabetes, comprehensive consideration of his condition, Liu Peng for the elderly to prescribe high-calorie high-quality protein soft food nutrition prescription, three meals a day to ingest 1 egg, 100 grams of livestock meat and 100 grams of fish and shrimp, and recommended the use of peeled, soft cooking methods
.

The diet should be light, some elderly people take this sentence as the standard of life, eat less and less meat, and even eat only porridge and small dishes
every day.
One of the diabeticss Wei Yanan had treated even chose to eat less or even no meal in order to control blood sugar
.
Blood sugar seems to be under control, but the nutrition of the elderly body can not keep up, and eventually there is a lack of calories
.

In fact, consuming enough protein is an important part
of the fight against muscle loss.
For the diet of the elderly over 65 years old, the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022) in addition to requiring rich food varieties and reasonable combinations, also proposes that sufficient amounts of animal food and soybean foods should be consumed, of which the total intake of animal foods should strive to reach an average of 120 grams to 150 grams per day, and different types should be selected and scattered in three meal intakes; It is recommended to consume 300 to 400 ml of milk or dairy products
with a comparable protein content per day.
For the elderly aged 80 and above, the guide recommends choosing foods with a fine texture and high energy and nutrient density, eating more fish, poultry, eggs, milk and beans, and an appropriate amount of vegetables with fruits
.

Of course, the elderly usually have the characteristics
of loss of appetite, decreased taste and smell, and weak digestion and absorption capacity.
If the amount of food eaten at the meal is insufficient, Liu Peng suggests that you can increase the intake of food by adding meals or snacks, or take nutritional supplements under the guidance of a doctor, "Of course, there is a row of supplements on the table, and eating supplements every day like eating is definitely not appropriate, or it is still necessary to 'miss what is supplemented'
.
" ”

During the 15 years of working in the nutrition clinic, Liu Peng clearly felt that with the development of society, more and more elderly people are willing to come to consult, try and practice nutrition prescriptions
.
Only a very small number of patients have relatively poor compliance, and the proportion of patients who can insist on follow-up consultation is more than
90% of the improvement in health.

"Many family members brought the elderly to me because they wanted me to help 'educate' the elderly
.
" Liu Peng laughed, but sometimes, he would also "disappoint" his family
.
He adheres to the principle of "no garbage food, only garbage eating methods", in addition to some obviously unhealthy ways of eating, such as a large number of pickled, smoked, fried, high-sugar food, he will not strictly limit the diet of the elderly, "If the old man has good teeth and occasionally eats a bite of fried chicken, what can he do?" ”

In addition to paying attention to the combination of food itself, Liu Peng also said that the company of family and friends is also very important for the elderly, "the family has a happy dinner, and the elderly are more likely to have a
big appetite.
" (The cases in the article are pseudonyms) (Editor Li Chuang)