Cooking, eating and drinking

Common challenges in eating and drinking

People’s difficulties with eating and drinking can cause a challenge for maintaining nutrition and hydration. A person with dementia may experience weight loss alongside other problems including fatigue, higher risk of infection and reduced muscle strength. Some of the other challenges that people with dementia experience are: 

• lack of appetite
• difficulties cooking (planning, preparation, motivation, recall etc)
• problems with recognising the feeling of hunger or being able to communicate hunger
• difficulties managing cutlery
• tiring during a meal
• losing concentration during mealtimes
• taste changes
• difficulties with chewing and swallowing
• apathy (lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern)

It is important to realise that sometimes eating three square meals a day doesn’t have to be ‘the rule’. It is understandable for a carer to worry about whether the person has eaten enough or finished their meal. But it’s important to know that often people with dementia find it easier to eat little and often and to snack between meals. Sometimes they might prefer unusual combinations of food and it doesn’t matter what the combination is, as long as the person is enjoying it.