This condition is not simply part of the aging process and can often lead to death. Warning Signs and Statisticsįailure to thrive in older adults is a serious condition that affects the up to 35% of older adults in general, up to 40% of nursing home patients, and up to 60% of hospitalized veterans. Very often it is accompanied by depression, dehydration, and low cholesterol. It is a deep-seated disorder that can include physical and mental components. Caregivers need to have a failure to thrive care plan in place before it becomes necessary.Īccording to The Institute of Medicine, failure to thrive is defined as, “Weight loss of more than 5%, decreased appetite, poor nutrition, and physical inactivity.” Failure to thrive in older adults is not just one medical condition. It is important to understand the warning signs in older adults as this can be a critical and deadly illness. However, adults - particularly older individuals - can fall into this category, as well. Once discovered, these difficulties can be treated with individual or family counseling.Very often the image of a small baby comes to mind when someone hears the term failure to thrive. Such disturbances can decrease a child’s appetite or alter her normal food intake and digestion. If there is no physical reason, however, the pediatrician will look for emotional or social problems, particularly within the family. If the doctor discovers a physical cause for the decrease in growth rate, he will recommend the appropriate treatment. Sometimes a short period of in-hospital observation may be necessary. The pediatrician also may watch your child eating or nursing to see how much she consumes and how she responds to food. The physician will try to establish exactly when the growth or weight gain stopped, and ask about anything that may have contributed to this. He will measure and examine your child, ask about her diet and eating patterns, and review her medical history for signs of illness that may be contributing to her failure to thrive. If she does not gain weight, grow in length, or otherwise develop normally, consult your pediatrician. Regularly charting your child’s growth, and comparing her general development with others her age, are the best ways to make sure she is thriving. If one of these is present, the child may need a special diet as well as medical treatment. Diseases such as cystic fibrosis, diabetes, or heart disease also can interfere with normal growth. The newborn may have an infection passed on from her mother during pregnancy, or she may have a hormonal difficulty, an allergy, or a digestive problem that prevents nutrients from being absorbed into the body properly. Sometimes failure to thrive signals a medical problem. These problems must be detected and treated early in order to avoid long-term or permanent damage. Some children may require more food than their parents are able to provide. As a newborn, she may be too fussy to eat as much as she needs, or, if breastfed, she may not be getting enough milk while nursing. Usually when a child stops growing, it is due to a feeding problem that prevents her from getting as many calories as she needs.
Steady weight gain is especially important for infants and toddlers because it means that they are receiving adequate nutrition and care for normal physical, mental, and emotional development. If allowed to continue for a prolonged period, this condition can become serious. Although it can happen in older children who are seriously ill or undernourished, it is most common and most dangerous during the active growth period of the first three years. The medical term for this condition is failure to thrive. If she does lose weight, it is a clear sign either that she is not getting enough to eat or that she is ill. It is not normal for her to stop growing or to lose weight except for the small amount she loses during the first few days of life. In general, you should see a continuous upward trend, although there will be times when she gains very slowly and perhaps some weeks when she actually loses a little weight due to illness.
At each of your child’s checkups, your pediatrician’s office should plot your child’s weight and measurements.
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