Dietitians Week – 21-27 March 2022
Dietitians Week is an annual awareness event hosted by Dietitians Australia and supported by dietitians around the country. 

Did you know that up to 72% of aged care residents are malnourished or at risk?

The natural impacts of ageing along with existing medical conditions places older people at a greater risk of nutrition deficiency.

Malnutrition may be commencing right in front of you at home - to you or your loved ones. It can start with losing interest in food, lack of appetite, feeling sad and isolated, finding it hard to swallow and perhaps coughing when eating or drinking. Malnutrition is preventable and we all have a part to play in looking out for each other as we age.

Dietitians work with individuals and their family, food companies and care services to create a positive mealtime experience with a nourishing menu to meet nutritional needs, allowing you to be healthy & happy in your home. Dietitians promote a food first approach and there are increasingly more options for obtaining the right food to ease the burden of shopping and cooking.

Are you, or somebody you know, impacted by issues with eating enough of the right foods for ageing? #DietitiansImproveLives by helping people manage poor appetites, overcome the struggle to find suitable and tempting foods to enjoy and achieve healthy ageing without the complication of malnutrition and frailty.

Share and help me raise awareness about how #DietitiansImproveLives – it’s #DietitiansWeek2022, so there’s no better time!

Thank you to Linda Cumines, Dietitian/Nutritionist and Creator of Nutriloops Biscuits for providing this Blog for Care Food Co.

Nutriloops Backstory

NutriloopsTM started out with the nickname ‘the biscuit project’... After many years as a Dietitian in the hospital setting, I witnessed many a meal return uneaten with the client preferring to eat a biscuit. Biscuits after all are familiar and comforting. Hospital food doesn’t have a great reputation and when it has to be texture-modified it tends to go downhill on appeal. Dietitians are working with Chefs and food service personnel to resolve and improve the many issues. In the meantime we all know a hospital admission for 14-21 days eating only commercial biscuits is not going to help someone recover! Perhaps you are discharged on oral nutritional supplements but wondering how you and the family are going to cope with medications, rehabilitation, dressings let alone food and eating.

I’ve produced NutriloopsTM because of the need for a biscuit that’s ‘good for you’ dense in nutrients and ‘easy to chew’. Pop the little pieces into your mouth for effortless eating.

NutriloopsTM - more than a biscuit - how easy!

Food for Thought

Malnutrition is estimated to add $1745 to the cost of a hospital admission (1). That would buying 453 servings of NutriloopsTM - 1 serve per day for 15 months! Investing in quality food will reduce the outcome and anguish of extended hospitalisation from malnutrition.
(1) Rowell,D. et al: Additional costs of inpatient malnutrition, Victoria, Australia 2003-2004. Eur J Health Econ 12,:353-361 (2001)