Nutrition for older parents

    Malnutrition in older people rarely looks like starvation. It looks like a fridge that has quietly gone empty and a parent who says they are "not really hungry."

    An AirCarers Companion guide for families

    How common this actually is

    Around one in ten people over 65 in the UK, more than a million people, are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition.1 Nearly all of them, 93%, are living in their own home, not in hospital or a care home.2 BAPEN's most recent national survey found 56% of people screened in their own homes were at risk of malnutrition, a higher rate than in care homes (55%) or hospitals (44%).3 It costs England's health and social care system an estimated £19.6 billion a year, and someone who is malnourished visits their GP twice as often, is admitted to hospital three times as often, and stays in hospital more than three days longer than someone who is not.2 None of this shows up as an emergency. It shows up slowly, which is exactly why it gets missed.

    Why it happens

    It is rarely about not knowing what to eat. Age UK points to the practical and emotional reasons behind it: long-term conditions like diabetes, COPD or arthritis that reduce appetite or make eating uncomfortable, reduced mobility that makes getting to the shops or standing to cook harder, and life events, bereavement, loneliness, low mood or the strain of caring for someone else, that take the routine out of mealtimes.1 Dementia adds its own layer: someone can forget they have already eaten, forget to eat at all, or lose the ability to recognise hunger as a signal to act on. A parent living alone can go from three proper meals a day to tea and toast without anyone noticing, because nobody is there to notice.

    The warning signs worth watching for

    Malnutrition is easy to miss because it creeps in gradually and older people often look "just thin" rather than unwell. The signs worth paying attention to:1

    • Unintentional weight loss, clothes, rings or dentures suddenly loose.
    • Low appetite or skipping meals, "I'm just not hungry at the moment."
    • Tiredness and low energy that does not have another obvious cause.
    • Difficulty chewing or swallowing, or avoiding certain foods because of it.
    • A fridge or cupboard that is often nearly empty, or full of things past their date.
    • Getting a cold, infection or wound that seems to take longer than usual to clear up, poor nutrition weakens the immune system and slows healing.

    Any of these, especially unintentional weight loss, is worth mentioning to a GP rather than waiting to see if it resolves on its own.

    What actually helps, day to day

    The advice here runs against a lot of standard healthy eating guidance, and that is deliberate: someone who is underweight or losing weight needs more calories and protein in a smaller stomach, not fewer. Age UK's practical, food-first advice includes:1

    • Choosing full-fat and full-sugar versions of milk, yoghurt and cheese rather than "diet" ones.
    • Getting protein into every meal, meat, fish, eggs, beans or dairy, not just the main meal of the day.
    • Fortifying ordinary meals with extra butter, cheese, cream or milk powder rather than relying on special supplements.
    • Eating smaller amounts more often, five or six small meals and snacks can be easier to manage and more effective than three large ones.
    • Keeping milky drinks and snacks, a biscuit, a bit of cheese, a yoghurt, within easy reach between meals.
    • Not treating frozen or ready meals as a failure. A proper hot meal from the freezer beats no meal at all, and is often exactly the right answer on a bad day.
    • Aiming to always have at least a few days' worth of food in the house, so one missed shop does not mean an empty cupboard.

    When it needs more than food-first advice

    A GP or practice nurse can run a quick, three-part check called MUST (the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool), body mass index, recent unplanned weight loss, and the likely effect of any current illness, to score someone's risk properly rather than guessing.4 It takes a few minutes and gives a clear low, medium or high risk result. Anyone scoring medium or high risk can be referred on to a dietitian for a proper nutrition plan, and some GP practices can prescribe oral nutritional supplement drinks for a period where food alone is not enough. It is worth asking for this screening directly if you are worried, rather than waiting for it to come up.

    Local meal support in Hertfordshire

    For the days when cooking simply is not going to happen, HILS (Health & Independent Living Support), a not-for-profit operating across Hertfordshire, delivers hot meals on wheels to the door at lunchtime, with options for different dietary needs, alongside lunch clubs and crisis food support for anyone going through a difficult patch.5 They can be contacted on 0330 200 0103, or you can check what is available for a specific postcode on their website. We also cover the council-run day services and drop-in lunch clubs across Ware, Hertford, Hoddesdon and Broxbourne in detail in our day centres and lunch clubs guide, several of which include a hot two-course lunch as part of the day.

    Where AirCarers Companion fits

    This is one of the most practical, unglamorous ways a regular visit helps, and it rarely needs anything clinical. A companion can check what is actually in the cupboards and fridge and do a shop to fill the gaps, so meals do not quietly stop happening because nothing is left to cook with. A companion can also prepare a proper meal together during a visit rather than leaving someone to manage alone, and make sure there is something ready, whether that is a portion in the fridge or something easy to heat, for the next meal or the next day, so there is never a gap where nothing is there.

    At the table, a companion's role is practical and social, not clinical: making sure the right food is prepared for that person, cutting it into smaller, easier pieces, and sitting down to actually eat together, so a meal becomes something shared rather than a chore done alone. Companions do not provide personal care, medication, clinical feeding assistance or anything else that needs a trained carer, and if what you describe needs more than that, we will say so.

    We work across Ware, Hertford, Hoddesdon, Broxbourne and the surrounding SG11 to SG14 and EN10 to EN11 postcodes. Every companion is enhanced DBS checked, ID verified, insured and trained. Visits start at one hour, from £25 an hour, set by each companion.

    Other guides families ask about

    If you would like to talk it through

    If you are noticing a parent eating less, losing weight, or simply struggling to keep the basics stocked and cooked, we are glad to have a calm, no obligation conversation about what would actually help.

    AirCarers Companion · aircarerscompanion.co.uk · 07455 750006

    Information correct as at 6 September 2026. Figures, services and contact details can change, so please check current details with your GP or the organisation concerned.

    References

    1. Age UK, Malnutrition: signs, causes and prevention. https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/health-wellbeing/conditions-illnesses/malnutrition/
    2. Malnutrition Task Force, Malnutrition in England factsheet. https://www.malnutritiontaskforce.org.uk/malnutrition-england-factsheet
    3. BAPEN, What is the scale of malnutrition in the UK? (2022 survey). https://www.bapen.org.uk/malnutrition/introduction-to-malnutrition/what-is-the-scale-of-malnutrition-in-the-uk/
    4. BAPEN, Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST). https://www.bapen.org.uk/pdfs/must/must_full.pdf
    5. HILS (Health & Independent Living Support). https://www.hils-uk.org