Malnutrition: Older People
(asked on 3rd February 2025) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of food poverty on trends in the level of malnutrition in over 65-year-olds in Sussex in the last (a) 12 months and (b) five years.
In the United Kingdom, the primary causes of malnutrition are clinical, rather than it solely being caused by poor or inadequate dietary intake. Most cases of clinical malnutrition will be secondary to another health condition which may impact on nutritional needs or impact on a person’s ability to eat and drink, rather than it solely being caused by poor or inadequate dietary intake. The term malnutrition is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to a poor diet or the low status of one or more nutrients, and although this may put someone at increased risk of malnutrition, this would not necessarily meet the criteria for a clinical diagnosis of malnutrition.
Although malnutrition prevalence data specific to Sussex is not available, population prevalence estimates that 5% of the adult population may have malnutrition, with a higher proportion of these amongst those who are admitted to hospital. Approximately one in three patients admitted to hospital or who are in care homes are malnourished or at risk of becoming so. The cost of malnutrition in England is estimated to be £19.6 billion per year.
Poverty across all age groups is associated with the increased likelihood of household level food insecurity. The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs’ UK Food Security Report 2024 found that 90% of UK households were food secure in the financial year ending 2023, and according to the report, food security tends to improve with age. While the report does not address the food security of pensioners as a distinct group, it provides insights into how food security varies with age, income, and disability status. In the financial year ending 2023, households headed by individuals aged 75 to 84 years old and 85 years old and over had the highest levels of food security, at 98% for both age groups. This suggests that, on average, pensioners may experience lower rates of food insecurity than the general population. Further information on the UK Food Security Report 2024 is available at the following link: