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Healthy Aging: Nutrition Concepts for Older Adults

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Book cover Nutrition Guide for Physicians

Part of the book series: Nutrition and Health ((NH))

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Key Points

  • A lifestyle based on a healthy diet and regular physical activity delays the appearance of age-related changes and slows the development of chronic disease, morbidity, and disability.

  • Age-related changes in nutrient requirements follow no general pattern but increase, decrease, or remain unchanged depending on the nutrient; at the same time energy needs continue to decline underscoring the importance of foods high in nutrient density.

  • Both inappropriate weight gain and debilitating weight loss increase the risk of chronic disease and disability; loss of muscle leading to frailty and dependence can be prevented or reversed with strength training.

  • Nutrient supplements may be needed as energy intake declines but recommendations should take into consideration individual needs, current medications, and food intake to prevent toxicity or dangerous interactions.

  • Community nutrition programs providing congregate or home-delivered meals can help older individuals maintain appropriate intakes of important nutrients when loneliness, anorexia, limited resources, or disability make it difficult to obtain or prepare adequate and appropriate food.

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Suggested Further Reading

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Merck Company Foundation. The State of Aging and Health in America 2007. Merck Company Foundation, Whitehouse Station, NJ, 2007. Available from http://www.cdc.gov/aging

  2. Evans WJ. Protein nutrition, exercise and aging. J Am Coll Nutr 2004; 23(suppl):601S–609S.

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  3. Holick MF. Vitamin D deficiency. N Engl J Med 2007; 357:266–281.

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  4. Lichtenstein AH, Russell RM. Essential nutrients: Food or supplements? JAMA 2005; 294:351–358.

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  5. Thomas DR. Loss of skeletal muscle mass in aging: Examining the relationship of starvation, sarcopenia and cachexia. Clin Nutr 2007; 26:389–399.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

References

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Merck Company Foundation. The State of Aging and Health in America 2007. The Merck Company Foundation, Whitehouse Station, NJ, 2007. Available from http://www.cdc.gov/aging. Accessed April 17, 2008.

  2. Fiatarone MA, O’Neill EF, Ryan ND, et al. Exercise training and nutritional supplementation for physical frailty in very elderly people. N Engl J Med 1994; 330:1769–1775.

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  3. Russell RM. Factors in aging that effect the bioavailability of nutrients. J Nutr 2001; 131(suppl): 1359S–1361S.

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  4. Lichtenstein AH, Rasmussen H, Yu WW, et al. Modified MyPyramid for older adults. J Nutr 2008; 138:5–11.

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  5. United States Department of Agriculture. MyPyramid Food Intake Pattern Calorie Levels. Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Washington, DC, April 2005. Available from http://www.MyPyramid.gov. Accessed April 17, 2008.

  6. Institute of Medicine. Dietary reference intakes. The Essential Guide to Nutrient Requirements. National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2006.

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  7. Campbell WW, Carnell NS, Thalacker AE. Protein metabolism and requirements. In: Chernoff R, ed. Geriatric Nutrition: The Health Professional’s Handbook, 3rd ed. Jones & Bartlett, Sudbury, MA, 2006, pp. 15–22.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Virginia, VA, USA

    Eleanor D. Schlenker PHD, RD

Authors
  1. Eleanor D. Schlenker PHD, RD
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Biology, Winona State University, Winona, 54603, U.S.A.

    Ted Wilson

  2. Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, Perkins Rd. 6400, Baton Rouge, 70808, U.S.A.

    George A. Bray

  3. Centre for Science, Athabasca University, Athabasca, T9S 3A3, Canada

    Norman J. Temple

  4. Dept. Foods & Nutrition, College of St. Elizabeth, Morristown, 07960, U.S.A.

    Maria Boyle Struble

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© 2010 Humana Press, a part of Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Schlenker, E.D. (2010). Healthy Aging: Nutrition Concepts for Older Adults. In: Wilson, T., Bray, G., Temple, N., Struble, M. (eds) Nutrition Guide for Physicians. Nutrition and Health. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-431-9_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-431-9_19

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-60327-430-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-60327-431-9

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