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More than a quarter of older people in Glasgow are at risk of malnourishment, a charity claims. The Food Train, a charity for older people, carried out screenings and found that 28 per cent of people aged 65 and above in the city are in danger of not getting enough nutrition and becoming ill. This is higher than the national average of 16 per cent.
However, the charity believes the actual figures might be even higher due to unreported cases of malnourishment. Rosie McLuskie, the chief executive of the Food Train (Image: Message Matters) The charity, which operates from Govanhill, is raising its concerns during UK Malnutrition Awareness Week from November 11 to 17. Rosie McLuskie, the chief executive of the Food Train, said: "The fact that 28 per cent of older people across Glasgow are at risk of malnutrition is extremely worrying.
"But the even more concerning reality is that this number is likely to be just the tip of the iceberg. "The people we have screened are those who have accessed a service run by us, or one of our partners. "What about the people who aren't using services like ours and are slipping through the net?" The charity is writing to all of the city’s MSPs, urging for mandatory malnutrition screening by agencies that support older people, the embedding of the right to food in Scots law, increased investment in community initiatives, and the appointment of an Older People's Minister by the Scottish Government.
Ms McLuskie added: "The risk of malnutrition among older people is rising. "We work with lots of people who can't leave their homes and don't have proper access to food. "Yet we don't see that factored into their health and social care needs.
"It's often wrongly assumed that people have access to food." The Food Train aims to tackle malnutrition and loneliness by ensuring older people have access to the food they need to eat well and live well in their own homes..
