Elderly people need to have contact with other people as they sit down to eat home cooking, an expert has claimed.

The social aspects of eating can provide all sorts of benefits, noted Mark Gleeson, membership director of Abbeyfield, a charity dedicated to enhancing the lives of older people.

"Services, such as meals-on-wheels which have been dramatically cut recently, offer a vital nutritional lifeline for many, but provide all the human contact," he continued.

Mr Gleeson highlighted that although meals are necessary for their nutritional value, they can be used as a part of a wider social occasion for those who may otherwise be excluded.

Karen Morrison, head of service design for residential care services at Care UK, recently emphasised the need for dementia sufferers to follow a healthy eating regime.

She said this would help keep other major health problems at bay, while also ensuring they are less confused and agitated.