LOS ANGELES: Eating together, providing social support and interaction during meals could help people with dementia avoid dehydration and malnutrition — according to new NIHR-funded research from the University of East Anglia.
Findings published reveal that while no interventions were unequivocally successful, promising approaches focused on a holistic approach to mealtimes.
The team found that eating family-style meals with care givers, playing music, and engaging with multisensory exercise — could all help boost nutrition, hydration and quality of life among people with dementia.
Lead researcher Dr Lee Hooper, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said: “The risk of dehydration and malnutrition are high in older people, but even higher in those with dementia.
“Malnutrition is associated with poor quality of life so understanding how to help people eat and drink well is very important in supporting health and quality of life for people with dementia.
“We wanted to find out what families or carers can do to help people with dementia eat well and drink enough.”