Nutrition Unlocked · Nestlé Health Science

12. Malnutrition: How to spot the common signs and encourage the best nutrition in loved ones

·24 min·1 clip

Anna Moll opens by putting nutrition at the center of strength, mobility, energy, and mood. She welcomes Professor Agathe Reynaud-Simon, a geriatrician and nutritionist who heads the geriatrics department of Bichat University Hospital in Paris and works on elderly nutrition guidance and malnutrition awareness. The topic is malnutrition. The discussion quickly gets practical, focusing on how families can spot it early, before weight loss becomes severe. Visible changes matter, but Agathe points out that loose rings or an emaciated face usually mean a person has already lost quite a bit of weight, so the more useful signal comes earlier. She gives a threshold. A loss of 3 kilograms or 5 kilograms should already prompt a full assessment and a search for why the weight is falling. Waiting is the real mistake. The episode pushes back on the idea that weight loss in old age or during illness is normal, even when that idea has been repeated often enough to sound harmless. Agathe is clear that losing weight with cancer or another disease is not a good sign, because the body can lose muscle as well as weight. Meal rhythm helps. Her first-line advice stays simple and food-based: regular traditional meals at least three times a day, plus snacks, with meat, fish, eggs, protein foods, and enough energy to keep weight stable. Stable weight matters. That gives listeners a concrete standard that is easier to act on than vague encouragement to eat better. The tone stays practical throughout. Anna keeps the exchange focused with clear follow-up questions, and Agathe answers in a way that turns clinical caution into guidance families can actually use. The closing reinforces the same idea: earlier recognition, steadier intake, and less delay between concern and assessment.

As heard by us

Early weight loss is treated as a warning sign, and the advice stays practical.

Nutrition Unlocked treats malnutrition as a problem to catch early in older adults, before weight loss becomes more severe. Anna Moll speaks with Professor Agathe Reynaud-Simon, a geriatrician and nutritionist who heads the geriatrics department at Bichat University Hospital in…

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When weight loss stops being vague and becomes a reason to act.

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