SINGAPORE, Oct 19 \u2014 Malnutrition is quietly becoming a growing threat among Singapore\u2019s elderly, with new data showing a sharp rise in undernourished seniors despite the city-state\u2019s abundance of food.<\/p>\n
According to The Straits Times, healthcare providers have found that among hospital patients aged 65 and above, those at risk of malnutrition increased from three in 10 in 2022 to four in 10 in 2024, based on data from NHG Health, one of Singapore\u2019s three public healthcare clusters.<\/p>\n
Of patients seen by dietitians at hospital discharge, the proportion who were malnourished or at risk also rose from 56 per cent to 66 per cent in the same period, the report said.<\/p>\n
Doctors warn the trend is worrying given Singapore\u2019s rapidly ageing population \u2014 with nearly a quarter of citizens projected to be 65 or older by 2030.<\/p>\n
A separate Singapore National University Health System (NUHS) study of 475 adults aged over 60 found malnutrition in one in 10 robust seniors, and one in six among those showing early signs of frailty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The rate was much higher among frail and hospitalised older adults, said Associate Professor Reshma Merchant, head of the Singapore National University Hospital\u2019s division of geriatric medicine.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is concerning as chronically poor nutrition contributes to increased frailty and a greater risk of falls and fractures,\u201d said Reshma.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMalnutrition also makes older adults vulnerable to poorer outcomes of disease, hospitalisation and surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n
She noted that one-quarter of those at risk of malnutrition had suffered at least one fall in the past year, compared with 15 per cent of those with no such risk.<\/p>\n
The findings echo results from the Singapore government\u2019s 2022 National Nutrition Survey, which found that half of adults aged 50 to 69 failed to meet the recommended protein intake of 20g to 30g per meal \u2014 roughly equivalent to a palm-sized chicken breast.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that food is plentiful and available (here) does not necessarily prevent malnutrition, especially among certain sub-populations like older adults,\u201d Reshma said.<\/p>\n
She explained that ageing brings reduced appetite, changes in taste, and feeling full more quickly \u2014 all of which lower food intake. Chronic illnesses, medications, social isolation, and financial pressures can further limit proper nutrition.<\/p>\n
NHG Health\u2019s Adjunct Associate Professor Lim Yen Peng said poor nutrition affects recovery, mood, memory, and overall independence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why we need to act earlier \u2014 to prevent the onset and progression of malnutrition,\u201d said Lim, who is also director of Group Allied Health and a senior principal dietitian.<\/p>\n
To tackle the issue, NHG Health launched EatWise SG in June 2024, a nationwide programme to improve access to nutrition care. More than 500 community care providers have been trained to spot early signs of malnutrition, with plans to expand outreach through home-based care teams and local organisations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SINGAPORE, Oct 19 \u2014 Malnutrition is quietly becoming a growing threat among Singapore\u2019s elderly, with new data showing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":213112,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[91800,91801,102,91802,91798,6636,91797,91799,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-213111","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-chronic-poor-nutrition","9":"tag-eatwise-sg-programme","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-national-nutrition-survey-singapore","12":"tag-nhg-health-undernourished-seniors","13":"tag-nutrition","14":"tag-singapore-elderly-malnutrition","15":"tag-singapore-national-university-health-system-study","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/213112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}