Daily Lessons from Life 02 Sep 2010 - Singapore's elderly population at risk of disability due to malnutrition

channelnewsasia.com: "Singapore's elderly population at risk of disability due to malnutrition - Posted: 01 September 2010 2204

SINGAPORE: Singapore may be one of the food capitals in the world, but its elderly population seems to be at high risk of malnutrition.

A survey conducted from February to March this year by Abbott, a global healthcare company, showed that only one per cent of the elderly respondents met the Health Promotion Board's Healthy Diet Pyramid recommendations.

The survey found that nearly 30 percent of elderly respondents have moderate to high nutritional risk. If we project out, we are talking about 300,000 older people!"er

It is an interesting survey result. It is unfortunate that the news report did not revealed if the surveyors had identified the reasons for this shortfall in getting adequate nutrition in their food. Is it due to poverty? or ignorance? or unavailability of nutritional food?

Lessons for me are:

1. like the report said: Singapore is a Food Capital or some said: Paradise for the foodies. This report does not reflect well on how our old folks are being taken care of. Or am I reading too much into this report?;

2. the survey mentioned about the issue of the whole process of eating. e.g. do the person eat alone or with other people? are they able to afford the nutritional food? are they able to chew, swallow, and digest? etc but offered no conclusion on what could have contributed to this high nutritional risk for the older people in Singapore given that we are a 1st world nation. Our economy is 1st out of the recession with sterling growth of more than 15% - top of the whole world. And, of course, we are a food paradise? So, what give? I hope the researchers or the relevant Authority dig deeper into this issue;

3. the survey points to the associated medical cost to take care of these oldies if their lack of nutrition manifested into long term illness like fall and fracture. So, I guessed in cost conscious Singapore, the Authority will give some priority to this research. Hopefully as sometimes the priorities are not as clear to us, the ordinary citizens, when the high and mighty decides! :-)

May the oldies live healthily and with abundance or sufficient nutritional food to keep them as healthy as they can be. They of course will need to help themselves living a healthy lifestyle if they can afford it. Not like that of the older elites, but like ordinary citizens!!