Growing Older, Eating Better
Nutrition remains important throughout life. Many chronic diseases that develop late in life, such as osteoporosis, can be influenced by earlier poor habits. Insufficient exercise and calcium intake, especially during adolescence and early adulthood, can significantly increase the risk of osteoporosis, a disease that causes bones to become brittle and crack or break.
But good nutrition in the later years still can help lessen the effects of diseases prevalent among older Americans or improve the quality of life in people who have such diseases. They include osteoporosis, obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, certain cancers, gastrointestinal problems and chronic undernutrition.
Studies show that a good diet in later years helps both in reducing the risk of these diseases and in managing the diseases' signs and symptoms. This contributes to a higher quality of life, enabling older people to maintain their independence by continuing to perform basic daily activities, such as bathing, dressing and eating.
Poor nutrition, on the other hand, can prolong recovery from illnesses, increase the costs and incidence of institutionalization, and lead to a poorer quality of life.
The single life
Whether it happens at age 65 or 85, older people eventually face one or more problems that interfere with their ability to eat well.
Social isolation is a common one. Older people who find themselves single after many years of living with another person may find it difficult to be alone, especially at mealtimes. They may become depressed and lose interest in preparing or eating regular meals, or they may eat only sparingly.
For many widowed men who may have left the cooking to their wives, the problem may extend even further: They may not know how to cook and prepare foods. Instead, they may snack or eat out a lot, both of which may lead people to eat too much fat and cholesterol and not get enough vitamins and minerals.
Special diets
At the same time, many older people, because of chronic medical problems, may require special diets: for example, a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet for heart disease, a low-sodium diet for high blood pressure, or a low-calorie diet for weight reduction. Special diets often require extra effort, but older people may instead settle for foods that are quick and easy to prepare, such as frozen dinners, canned foods, lunchmeats, and others that may provide too many calories, or contain too much fat and sodium for their needs.
On the other hand, Mona Sutnick, EdD, a registered dietitian in private practice in Philadelphia, pointed out that some people may go overboard on their special diets, overly restricting foods that may be more beneficial than detrimental to their health.
"My advice for a 60-year-old person might be 'watch your fat' but for an 80-year-old who's underweight, I'd say, 'eat the fat, get the calories,' " Sutnick said.
Physical problems
Some older people may overly restrict foods important to good health because of chewing difficulties and gastrointestinal disturbances, such as constipation, diarrhea and heartburn. Because missing teeth and poorly fitting dentures make it hard to chew, older people may forego fresh fruits and vegetables, which are important sources of vitamins, minerals and fiber. Or they may avoid dairy products, believing they cause gas or constipation. By doing so, they miss out on important sources of calcium, protein and some vitamins.
Adverse reactions from medications can cause older people to avoid certain foods. Some medications alter the sense of taste, which can adversely affect appetite. This adds to the problem of naturally diminishing senses of taste and smell, common as people age.
Other medical problems, such as arthritis, stroke or Alzheimer's disease, can interfere with good nutrition. It may be difficult, if not impossible, for example, for people with arthritis or who have had a stroke to cook, shop, or even lift a fork to eat. Dementia associated with Alzheimer's and other diseases may cause them to eat poorly or forget to eat altogether.
Money matters
Lack of money is a particular problem among older Americans who may have no income other than Social Security. Lack of money may lead older people to scrimp on important food purchases&emdash;for example, perishable items like fresh fruits, vegetables and meat&emdash;because of higher costs and fear of waste. They may avoid cooking or baking foods like meats, stews and casseroles because recipes for these foods usually yield large quantities.
Financial problems also may cause older people to delay medical and dental treatments that could correct problems that interfere with good nutrition.
Food programs
Many older people may find help under the Older Americans Act, which provides nutrition and other services that target older people who are in greatest social and economic need, with particular attention on low-income minorities.
Home-delivered meals and congregate nutrition services are the primary nutrition programs. The congregate meal program allows seniors to gather at a local site, often the local senior citizen center, school or other public building or a restaurant, for a meal and other activities, such as games and lectures on nutrition and other topics of interest to older people.
These programs, funded by the federal, state and local governments, ensure that senior citizens get at least one nutritious meal five to seven days a week. The meals provide not only good nutrition, but they also give older people a chance to socialize&emdash;a key factor in preventing the adverse nutritional effects of social isolation.
For those who qualify, food stamps are another aid for improving nutrition. For the homebound, grocery-shopping assistance is available in many areas. Usually provided by non-government organizations, this service shops for and delivers groceries to people at their request. The recipient pays for the groceries and sometimes a service fee. In some communities, private organizations also sell home-delivered meals.
Other assistance
Family members and friends can help ensure that older people take advantage of food programs by putting them in touch with the appropriate agencies or organizations and helping them fill out the necessary forms. Some other steps they can take include:
- looking in occasionally to ensure that the older person is eating adequately
- preparing foods for and making them available to the older person
- joining the older person for meals.
In some cases, they may help see that the older person is moved to an environment, such as their home, an assisted-living facility or a nursing home, that can help ensure that the older person gets proper nutrition.
Whatever an older person's living situation, proper medical and dental treatment is important for treating medical problems, such as gastrointestinal distress and chewing difficulties, that interfere with good nutrition. If a medication seems to ruin an older person's taste and appetite, a switch to another drug may help.
A review of basic diet principles may help improve nutrition. Explaining to older people the importance of good nutrition in the later years may motivate them to make a greater effort to select nutritious foods.
Look to the label
The food label can help older people select a good diet. The label gives the nutritional content of most foods and enables consumers to see how a food fits in with daily dietary recommendations.
Some of the information appears as claims describing the food's nutritional benefits: for example, "low in cholesterol" or "high in potassium." Under strict government rules, these claims can be used only if the food meets certain criteria. This means that claims can be trusted.
Less common but also helpful are label claims linking a nutrient or food to the risk of a disease or health-related condition. So far, the Food and Drug Administration allows only eight of these claims because they are the only ones supported by scientific evidence. One claim links sodium, a nutrient found in salt and used in many processed foods, to high blood pressure.
Some nutrition information also may be available for many raw meats, poultry and fish and fresh fruits and vegetables at the point of purchase. The information may appear in brochures or on posters or placards.
Physical activity
Besides diet, physical activity is part of a healthy lifestyle at any age. It can help reduce and control weight by burning calories. Moderate exercise that places weight on bones, such as walking, helps maintain and possibly even increases bone strength in older people.
Any regular physical activity is good, from brisk walking to light gardening. But, before a vigorous exercise program is started or started after a long period of rest, a doctor should be consulted.
Resources
To learn more about the food label and nutrition for older people, write for these publications:
- Using the New Food Label to Choose Healthier Foods. Food and Drug Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane (HFE-88), Rockville, MD 20857. Ask for publication number (FDA) 94-2276.
- Healthy Eating for a Healthy Life. American Association of Retired Persons Fulfillment, 601 E. St. N.W., Washington, DC 20049. Ask for publication by title and stock number D15565.
To learn about meal programs for senior citizens in your area, call the Administration on Aging's Elder Care Locator, (800) 677-1116.
For information about food stamps, contact your county's food stamp office listed in the blue pages of the telephone book.
To find a registered dietitian in your area, call the National Center for Nutrition and Dietetics Consumer Nutrition Hotline, (800) 366-1655.
By Paula Kurtzweil
Source: Federal Consumer Information Center
