The Dangers of Eating Alone

If you have an aging parent who is living alone or who is perhaps caring for another aging loved one, you may worry that their diet is not nutritionally sound, and with good reason.
There are many There causes of poor nutritional intake:

• recipes are difficult to scale down for only 1 or 2 people
• decreased vision may make reading recipes frustrating 
• it's neither fun nor rewarding to cook for just one 
• many men never learned how to cook in the first place 
• there is no one to socialize with during meals 
• there may be decreased energy or shakiness 
• there could be decreased appetite from 

-depression
-certain medications
-decrease in the sense of taste
-dementia causing a lack of knowing WHEN there is hunger or thirst

• shopping may have become difficult
• a lack of transportation may cause food supplies to dwindle 
• there may a lack of money to purchase food items 
• cavities or other dental problems may cause difficulty when eating

Because of one or more of these situations, senior adults may choose items that are pre-made or are quick and easy to prepare. Many of these items are not good choices for maintaining good health.