In 1997, there were more than 946,000 people living in North Carolina who were over age 65. Poverty contributes significantly to malnutrition among older people. As health care, medication and utility costs increase, many older Americans cut back on their food budget. Many older people, especially the oldest and the poorest, are malnourished because they have disabilities or functional impairments and are unable to shop for groceries or cook for themselves.
Older adults take more medications than any other group.
Medications can cause loss of appetite, reduced taste and smell, painful swallowing, nausea and vomiting, and can affect the absorption and use of nutrients causing malnutrition . Nearly half of the nation's low-income elders have lost all of their natural teeth. Problems with chewing and swallowing have definitely been linked to malnutrition.