Supporting the needs of the nutritionally vulnerable in our population

Older people are the largest group of nutritionally vulnerable people in Australia.1 There are many factors that may contribute to the risk of under-nutrition in older people, including inadequate nutritional intake,2 reduced appetite,3 dysphagia,4 dementia5 and depression.5 With the proportion of adults in Australia ≥65 years of age continuing to increase, the number of nutritionally vulnerable people in our population is also increasing. In 2020, 16% of the population were ≥65 years of age,6 an increase from 9% in 19737 and 12% in 1996.8 This proportion of the population is expected to continue to increase over the next 40 years to between 21% and 23%.6 Older people contribute to a large share of the total burden of disease in Australia, and this increases with age.6 People aged between 65 and 69 years of age make up 5% of the population and contribute to 8.4% of the total burden of disease, and those aged 70 years of age and over make up 12% of the population and contribute to 37% of the total disease burden.