Isolation leaving the elderly at risk of malnutrition

As things worsen by each missed meal, it can lead to something far more serious like a fall, infection or a hospital admission.

HomePlate Insights, led by the Maggie Beer Foundation and funded by the Wicking Trust, has released the findings of its national survey of almost 2500 older Australians.

It found one in nine older people directly linked their declining eating to the loss of a spouse, it found, after adopting a "it's just me, it doesn't matter anymore" mentality.

Almost a quarter of those interviewed were living or eating alone, 40 per cent of people living alone said cooking was simply unappealing and more than a quarter were silently skipping meals.

The single strongest driver of poor eating outcomes was a lack of energy or motivation – more than twice as influential as the cost of food.

Maggie Beer Foundation CEO Jane Mussared said older people were wanting to stay at home, but staying well and staying at home weren't the same thing.

"Malnutrition can build slowly and quietly, and it often goes unnoticed until someone ends up unwell," she told AAP.

Older people who reluctantly leave their homes and go in nursing care are "starving", she said.

"The importance of eating well perhaps hasn't had the profile or been as well understood as it needs to be."

University of Sydney geriatrician Susan Kurrle said malnutrition in later life was rarely dramatic, and rarely about a single cause.

"It's the slow accumulation of physical changes, social isolation and lost confidence in the kitchen," Professor Kurrle said. 

Mike Quinn, 82, who lives alone in Toowoomba, relies on frozen meals for a "proper dinner" after a stroke in 2015 paralysed most of the left side of his body. 

"It's certainly almost impossible to use my left hand to help me prepare anything," he said.

"It's just it's a lot of work preparing a meal for one person ... so I tend not to."