ABSTRACT
Optimal nutrition speeds recovery from acute illnesses and can help improve or maintain functional status and quality of life. The importance of social relationships on the dietary adequacy of elders was recognized at the Nutrition Screening Initiative (NSI) consensus conference. The NSI identified social isolation as one of seven key risk factors predicting nutritional health in older adults. In the nutrition-specific model, the increase in self-worth has a beneficial impact on dietary quality. The influence of companionship on diet quality is therefore indirect, operating through self-worth. In nutrition research, the most frequent indicator of social interaction is a measure of social contacts. In the interactive model, the interaction of friendship network and financial stress on appetite was statistically significant. An extensive friendship network buffered against the potentially detrimental effects of financial stress on appetite. The chapter also presents an overview on the key concepts discussed in this book.
