Nutrition in the elderly: a basic standard of care and dignity for older people.

With an ageing UK population people are living longer and enjoying longer periods of retirement. The number of people over the age of 65 years in the UK is projected rise to 20% by 2051 (Office of National Statistics, 2004). The fastest growing section of the population is those aged over 85 years - this sector is projected to reach 3.2 million in the UK by 2033. These figures also reflect trends seen across European countries. The 2008-based national population projections, EuroPop2008, predicted an increase to 30% of people aged 65 years and over by 2060 (Eurostat, 2008). Similarly the number of people aged 80 years or over is projected to treble.