Dementia, obesity, cancer and increasing levels of people with dementia are just some of the problems facing the society of tomorrow, according to Professor Jane Murphy, whose work has looked at improving dementia care in care homes, as well as the roles of nursing staff in providing nutritional advice for people living with and beyond cancer.
Professor Murphy, who currently leads the Ageing and Dementia Research Centre (ADRC) at Bournemouth University (BU), also used her inaugural lecture, one of a series of public events held across the Dorset area, to look at the scope and range of nutritional organisations available to people in the area, as well as how BU’s work impacts on dementia care across the UK.
Speaking after her lecture at the Executive Business Centre on Lansdowne Campus, the registered nutritionist and dietitian, said: “Nutrition is crucial to ensure that people maintain a quality of life and maintain health and wellbeing, particularly across the lifespan as we grow older – in our society we have a growing ageing population.
“There are more people over the age of 65 than under 18 years old. Over the next 20 years, there is going to be something like a 64 per cent increase in the numbers of people over 65.”
She added: “We certainly need to increase awareness of nutrition-related problems and the complex problems that older people face when it comes to managing their own nutrition.”
The event concludes BU’s series of Fusion Inaugural Lectures 2017-18, which began in September with Professor Rob Britton’s talk, ‘Aquatic invaders: the truth is out there...’ which was held on Brownsea Island.
Professor Murphy's full lecture can be heard below. To read more about upcoming BU events, please visit www.bournemouth.ac.uk/news-events
