The University of Navarra launches an online course on "Nutrition of the elderly".
The University of Navarra launches an online course on "Nutrition of the elderly".
This group, which celebrated its International Day, represents 16.7% of the population in Spain, the fourth oldest country in the world.
The high school of Food Sciences of the University of Navarra (ICAUN) has launched a new online course on "Nutrition of the elderly". Aimed at university graduates in Health Sciences, its goal is to offer updated knowledge on the integral evaluation , nutritional needs, dietary guidelines and most frequent food problems in this population group .
According to the latest data, in Spain -which celebrates the International Day of this group tomorrow- 16.7% of the population is 65 or older. It is the fourth most aged country, preceded by Germany, Italy and Japan. Iosune Zubieta, dietician-nutritionist at ICAUN and coordinator of the course, points out that it is especially important for the elderly to maintain an adequate diet in order to contribute to "living longer and in the best possible conditions", which can be achieved through proper advice.
Thus, the course aims to establish the keys to committee food in the population over 65 years, in order to promote and promote a healthy, balanced and individualized diet. The program, through the study of its different modules from a virtual classroom , offers a proposal of protocol to make a proper dietary advice, which can be expanded and customized by each specialist.
More obesity and overweight between 65 and 74 years of age
The course consists of 4 modules, which are carried out independently. The first one deals with "evaluation integral geriatric. evaluation of nutritional status"; the second one, on "Dietary Counseling"; and the last two will address "Nutrition in special situations", such as dehydration, malnutrition, loss of appetite or various diseases.
"In many of the most diagnosed diseases among the elderly population," said Iosune Zubieta, "diet can play a role core topic in prevention and treatment". In this sense, she spoke of osteoarthritis or rheumatic problems, which more than half of the elderly suffer from; arterial hypertension (51.9%) or high cholesterol (30%). And he pointed out that the group population between 65 and 74 years of age are those with the highest levels of overweight and obesity of the total adult population.
"Despite the fact that the per diem expenses of the Spanish elderly is more balanced than that of the rest of the population, it continues to maintain deficiencies in the consumption of foods such as vegetables," he concluded.
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