Over 65? Eat butter and cakes to keep you healthy: Latest dietary advice for pensioners

Dieticians said the vulnerable and elderly should ignore know-it-all health chiefs and drench poultry in olive oil before roasting and snack on calorific treats to see them through the cold snap.

Dr Simon Gabe, the president of the British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (Bapen), said: "Malnutrition is a hidden problem in the UK, but awareness, prevention and detection are key to reducing its prevalence. For too long, the public have been given health messages focused on reducing levels of obesity and while obesity is a huge problem, for the malnourished, the best thing to do is ignore these messages entirely and seek professional advice."

Men require 2,500 calories a day as part of a balanced diet while women need 2,000.

Public Health England's Eatwell Guide says a third of a dinner plate should be based around starchy carbohydrates like bread, pasta and potatoes.

It also suggests dairy products should be low in fat while consumption of sugar, crisps, cake and chocolate should be limited.

Two portions of fish should be eaten each week while red and processed meat should be restricted.

However, one in 10 people aged over 65 in the UK, around 1.3 million people, is malnourished and 90 percent of them live on their own.

The Bapen advice comes as research revealed almost half of British adults believe losing weight in later life is normal instead of a telltale sign of malnourishment.

The elderly are particularly prone to malnutrition, which can affect those who are overweight or underweight. Common signs are muscle weakness, lethargy, feeling low in spirits and an increase in illnesses or infection – but these symptoms could also point to more serious underlying health problems.

Dr Gabe said: "The general advice for those with malnutrition or for those at risk is to maximise their food intake.

"You can have cream in your coffee instead of milk, fry instead of grill, add butter to your scrambled eggs, give that chicken an extra brush of oil before putting it in the oven and stock up on cakes.

"This approach could help prevent thousands of people suffering the catastrophic health consequences of malnutrition and relieve significant pressure on the NHS and social care." Malnutrition costs the NHS £19.6 billion a year, it is estimated. Malnourished older people are twice as likely to visit a GP and have more hospital admissions than someone who eats well.

Diane Jeffrey, the chairman of the Malnutrition Task Force, said: "Malnutrition is often associated with the extreme poverty we see in the news and on the television but the truth is it can affect anyone, including our own family and friends here in the UK. It's important to be vigilant, so look out for the subtle tell-tell signs such as loose rings, dentures and clothes. Alarm bells should be ringing if we see the people we care about lose significant amounts of weight unintentionally in later life - it's not normal to get thinner with age as people assume."

• To see if you are suffering from malnutrition visit www.malnutritionselfscreening.org

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