What Can Your Aging Adult’s Eating Habits Tell You?
You may not realize it, but what your elderly family member is eating and when she’s eating can tell you a lot about what is going on with her at a deeper level.
Elder Care Philadelphia PA – What Can Your Aging Adult’s Eating Habits Tell You?
She’s Not Getting to the Grocery Store
When your elder family member has a tough time driving or getting to all of her errands, food shopping may be at the very bottom of the list. As a result, your aging adult might not have the healthy foods on hand that she needs in order to nourish herself. One solution might be to grocery shop for her.
Cooking Is Difficult for Her
Cooking for just one person is not all that much fun. For your aging adult, it might even be dangerous. She might be relying on unhealthy packaged meals or she might be grabbing only snacks here and there. Talk to your elderly family member about how she feels about cooking. You or another family member might be able to take that over for her.
She Doesn’t Care Whether She Eats or Not
If your elder family member is prone to depression, she might start to avoid eating simply because she doesn’t care if she eats or not. This can be a tremendous problem and can weaken your senior severely. Talk to her doctor about what signs to watch for when it comes to depression so that you can get her the help that she needs.
She Doesn’t Remember if She Ate or Not
Elderly adults with memory problems may not be able to remember when they last ate or if they ate at all. This can lead to your elder family member skipping meals and losing way too much weight. Help your aging adult learn to keep a food diary or start helping her manage her meals much more closely.
She May Need Substantially More Help than She Has
The bottom line here is that your elder family member may need far more help now than she has ever needed in the past. It might be time for you to be more hands-on as a caregiver or to enlist the help of elder care providers.
If you’re not already checking up on how well your elderly family member is eating, make it a point to find out soon.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Elder Care Services in Philadelphia PA, please contact the caring staff at True Direct Home Health Care today.
Doc, as he is called by everyone - staff, patients and clients - first experienced home health care and hospice care while as a colleg student at King's College as he cared for his mother every day while she first battled COPD and then lung cancer. It was during this time that he came to understand that caring for a patient was more than just clinical expertise.
"Admittedly, my strongest attribute is my communication skills and the simple fact that I love to help people. Even the smallest thing you can do for someone really can mean so much to them long term. In fact, it could change them forever. That's what providing quality personal home health care should be all about."
In his spare time, he cooks for homeless shelters and children's music and arts events. He also is highly involved in his local youth sports soccer academy as a coach and Board member.
- How Home Health Providers Offer Education Amidst Physical Health Changes - March 5, 2024
- Spring Activities for Seniors - February 21, 2024
- How to Help an Older Loved One with Cataracts? - February 6, 2024