How do the elderly gain weight

As people age, various organs in the human body face the possibility of failure, body functions also deteriorate, and many elderly people also face the phenomenon of graying hair, falling teeth, and loss of body fat. When weight continues to decrease, it also means that the food consumed is not absorbed by the human body, which will lead to some related diseases, and even life-threatening in severe cases. Therefore, how the elderly can gain weight is also one of the important issues they face.

What should the elderly eat to gain weight?

1. Eat more meals every day and try to increase the total food intake.

2. Sweets are easy to absorb and fats are high in calories, so you should eat more of them.

3. Find out the cause and whether there are potential chronic diseases, such as tumors, diabetes, chronic liver disease, chronic gastrointestinal diseases, etc. that increase consumption or affect absorption, and then treat them in time. For digestion and absorption disorders caused by aging, tooth loss, loss of taste, etc., you should add variety to the dishes, chop them into small pieces and stew them until they are soft, so that they can stimulate appetite and be easy to digest and absorb.

4. Increase protein intake, especially animal protein. At this time, it is not advisable to be overly concerned about the cholesterol content and control meat intake.

5. Foods rich in fiber not only take up volume but also affect the absorption of other nutrients, so they should be controlled appropriately.

6. Supplement multiple vitamins to adjust the functions of organs throughout the body. Take some zinc to improve appetite.

7. Angelica, ginger and mutton soup: 30 grams of angelica, 15 grams of ginger, 150 grams of mutton, add appropriate amount of water, cook until the mutton is tender, add salt and other seasonings, eat the meat and drink the soup. It is suitable for people with thin body, pale complexion, dizziness, palpitations, insomnia, numbness of limbs and fear of cold.

8. Chicken stewed with ginseng and Astragalus: 30 grams of Codonopsis pilosula, 30 grams of Astragalus membranaceus, 150 grams of hen meat, 5 red dates, and 3 slices of ginger. Put them in a bowl, add appropriate amount of water, cover tightly, stew for two hours, add salt and MSG to taste, and eat the meat and drink the soup. Suitable for people who are thin, short of breath, sweating and prone to colds.

9. Turtle bone marrow soup: remove the internal organs and claws of a turtle, 150 grams of pig spinal cord, and 3 slices of ginger. Put them into a pot, add appropriate amount of water, boil it over high heat first, then simmer it over low heat until it is cooked, add salt and other seasonings, and drink the soup before eating. It is suitable for people with thin body, hot sensation in the five parts of the body, sore waist and spermatorrhea, weak feet, dry mouth and sore throat.

The dangers of being too thin in the elderly

1. It can easily lead to physical weakness

If the elderly are too thin, their metabolism and various physiological functions will be lower than those of normal elderly people. Their physical constitution is relatively weak, and their tolerance to hunger and fatigue is poor. In daily life, they often feel listless and prone to fatigue and dizziness.

2. Beware of malnutrition

The metabolism and various physiological functions of thin elderly people are lower than those of normal elderly people. Their physical constitution is relatively weak, and their tolerance to hunger and fatigue is poor. They often feel listless and are prone to fatigue and dizziness. In addition, some elderly people are not born thin, but blindly advocate vegetarianism, only eating plant-based foods such as rice, noodles, vegetables, fruits, and beans, and refusing animal-based foods such as meat, fish, and poultry. These elderly people may suffer from malnutrition and energy deficiency, and then develop anemia, low immunity, osteoporosis, etc.

3. Prone to pain

Fat is a protector of internal organs and subcutaneous tissue, and plays the role of cushioning, supporting and relieving vibration. Lean people don't have enough fat to cushion their bones. When they sit for a long time, they often feel pain in the hip bones due to pressure. Because the fat pad on the sole of the foot is thin, walking may feel painful.

4. Being thin may also lead to excess fat

People always associate high blood lipids with obesity. In fact, many people who are light or even thin may also have excessive fat content in their bodies, thereby increasing the risk of diseases such as high blood pressure, high blood lipids, and diabetes. Because they are not as vigilant as "fat people", light-weight elderly people often make empirical mistakes and even automatically ignore blood sugar and blood lipid tests during physical examinations, failing to detect signs of disease in time. It is recommended that very thin elderly people also check their blood sugar and blood lipids regularly, eat less greasy food, and exercise for half an hour more than three times a week.

5. Susceptible to skin diseases

The elderly are too thin, and due to thinning and dry skin, the secretion of sebaceous glands decreases, and the incidence of senile skin diseases such as pityriasis senile, keratosis pilaris, and pruritus is also significantly increased.

6. It will prolong the recovery time of the disease

Since thin people have very little energy stored in their bodies, once they fall ill, they often cannot withstand the torture of the disease, especially chronic wasting diseases, which prolongs the time it takes to recover from the disease.

7. Prone to osteoporosis

Being too thin in the elderly can also cause a disease called "sarcopenia syndrome", which becomes one of the important factors leading to the development of diseases such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.