[Nutrition and health--vitamin supplementation and the vitality of the elderly]. / Voeding en gezondheid--vitaminevoorziening en vitaliteit van ouderen.

ABSTRACT

The increasing number of elderly people above 65 years of age is extremely heterogeneous with regard to sickness and health. As a result, the nutritional needs and food consumption also vary. 'Anorexia of aging', leading to nutritional deficiencies, is a common syndrome in the elderly people and may be either caused by or result in loss of functions and accelerated aging. Early detection of malnutrition and intervention with supplements or an adequate diet should stop the negative health spiral. A limited number of intervention trials, including Dutch ones, have demonstrated a positive effect on the nutritional and immune status. However, the improvement in physical and mental functions as a result of supplementation is less clear. The results of larger current trials on the effect of supplementation with, for example, vitamin D, folic acid, vitamin B12 and complete enriched products will provide more clarity in the future on the necessity of supplementation for elderly people.