Nutrition - Critical for Good Health and Healthy Aging

Adequate nutrition is crucial for healthy aging. Older adulthood often brings many social and health changes that can make it difficult to sustain a healthy diet. A recent study identified strategies used by community-dwelling older adults who maintain healthy nutrition in the face of dietary challenges. There are many changes associated with aging that can lead to poor nutrition, such as physiological changes in appetite, new limitations to mobility that can make acquiring food more challenging, and reduced social networks, particularly widowhood. There is a good deal of research highlighting the health risks of reduced food intake, but little is known about factors that can contribute to good dietary habits among older adults. The authors of this study propose the concept of ‘dietary resilience’ in order to encourage a better understanding of how to encourage healthy eating throughout the life course. Some of the participants in the study were classified as “resilient eaters,” and maintained or improved the quality of their diet over a three-year study period, while some showed “diet vulnerability,” or were unable to maintain a nutritious diet. The participants ranged in age from 68 to 86. The study identifies four core themes that were articulated by resilient eaters. Prioritizing eating well and doing whatever it takes to keep eating well were motivations expressed by resilient eaters who consciously made efforts to maintain a good diet. Some focused on the pleasure of good eating, while others stated that they were driven more by health goals. Being able to do it yourself or getting help when you need it were two themes relating to the resources needed to maintain dietary resilience. As the authors of the study note, being able to eat well depends on having certain resources, particularly a combination of knowledge, skills, health, mobility, and adequate finances. Individuals without these resources need to rely on either formal services, such as commercial or government agencies, or informal support that friends and family may provide. For many, there is a stigma attached to needing outside assistance. Throughout one’s life, good nutrition is important. Good nutrition in the later years 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, diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers, gastrointestinal problems, and chronic under-nutrition. 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 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.