Current problems of nutrition in elderly and senile patients

This article provides a review of the literature devoted to the study of current nutritional problems among elderly and senile patients. Psychological, medical, and social factors provoking nutritional disorders in them are considered. They include a decline in physical function, visual and bite disorders, functional changes in the gastrointestinal tract, depression, dementia, isolation, etc. A scientific strategy for dealing with these factors, especially in the very old and socially isolated elderly people, is substantiated. Norms of physiological requirements in the main nutrients for the elderly and senile patients, developed according to the results of numerous research studies, are described. Emphasis is placed on the protein requirements for this group of patients, regarding which serious disputes are still ongoing in the scientific world. Key words: diet therapy, old age, sarcopenia, aging