OLDER AGE IS KNOWN AS THE AGE OF RETIREMENT THAT IS ABOVE 60S. THIS IS THE AGE WHERE BODY REDUCES ITS ABILITY TO DIGEST, ABSORP AND TRANSPORT NUTRIENTS MORE EFFECTIVELY THAN DOES IN ADULTHOOD. AGING EFFECTS THE OVERALL PSYCHOLOGICAL, PHSIOLOGICAL, IMMUNOLOGICAL AND NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF A PERSON.



NUTRITION DURING OLD AGE (80S T0 90S OF AGE):

Nutrition is the science of food and study of the way through which food nourishes the human body. It is the key to healthy life style. Nutrition for each age group is different from the other. Nutrition for children’s or newborns are known as pediatric nutrition and the nutrition for adults are known as geriatric nutrition.

 Geriatrics is the branch of medicine dealing with the health problems of the elderly persons i.e. treating the disease of the aged person through diet and impacts of aging on the overall body of the person.

Gerontology is the broad area of science concerned with all psychological, physiological, social, economic and medical problem of elderly.

1.1           CHANGES OCCUR IN A PERSON BODY AND BEHAVIOUR WITH AGING:

FOLLOWING ARE THE MAJOR CHANGES THAT OCCUR WITH THE AGING OF A PERSON:

  • Psychological changes
  • Physiological changes
  • Immunological changes
  • Nutritional changes

1.        PHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES:

   Physiological changes can be defined as the changes occur in the all systems of the body which functions to run the overall individual. There are total 11 systems in the human body which functions coordinately with each other so a little distortion and abnormality in the single system of the body can may affect the overall body systems function.

Most of the physiological changes that occur in human body with aging are loss of teeth, decreased neuromuscular coordination, impaired healing, diminished sense of taste and smell, anorexia, physical discomforts, changes in body composition, change in gastro intestinal tract, change in cardiovascular, renal, respiratory function and change in skeletal tissues.

2.       SOCIO PSYCHOLOGICAL CHANGES:

     Psychological impact that aging cause are depression, anxiety, loss of self-esteem, food habits, economic aspects, loneliness, loss of independence.

3.       IMMUNOLOGICAL CHANGES:

      The defense system of elders are also getting older and older with its age and loses its ability to fight against pathogens. At older stage the immune system of older are same as that of the newborn children’s which require high care and protection in order to prevent them from infectious diseases. As the human body works like a machine and just like machine loses its functional capability human systems also weakens.

4.       NUTRITIONAL CHANGES:

       Due to all these changes listed above a person are now more susceptible to develop mal nutrition related diseases and its nutritional status drops day by day.   Mal nutrition or under nutrition are become a concern during this age.

1.2          COMMON DISEASES IN ADULTS:

The most common concerns that an older person face during this life period are:

Heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, prostate cancer, dementia, anemia, blood pressure, kidney disease, lung disease, memory loss, menopause, stroke, thyroid disorders, urine and bladder problems. As a newborn baby and an older adult are at higher risk to develop diseases.

Intake of improper diet, biological determinants, economic determinants, physical determinants, social determinants and psychological can may be the cause of all diseases listed above.

2         nutrition for older adult:

2.1          ENERGY REQUIREMENT:

                     Due the decrement in Basal metabolic rate, Body mass index, loss of lean body mass, low physical activity, weak functioning of body systems causes a decrement in the total energy requirement of the body.

Calorie requirement for an older adult are:

gender

sedentary

moderate

Male

1883

2216

Female

1706

2007

 

2.2        Carbohydrates:

                    Requirement decreases but still 50% energy must need to be derived from carbohydrates. Due to insulin sensitivity and impaired glucose intolerance it can lead to hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia and type-2 diabetes. Carbohydrates containing large amount of fibers are considered as the best one for older adults as it’s are easy to digest and also remove the waste from body and helps to calm the mind.

Best sources of carbohydrates for older adults are broccoli contain easily digestible carbs with a huge amount of fibers in it. In addition, starchy vegetables, lentils, beans, fruits and vegetables are the best carbs.

2.3         proteins:

loss of appetite, poor digestion puts an older person away from food due to which the whole lean mass of a body decreases and shapes like a skeletal. Due to in adequate intake of these proteins there is a decrease in skeletal body mass and a mal nutrition related diseases include anemia, edema and low resistance to infections.

An adult person can have 0.45 to 0.55 or 1.0 grams of proteins each day. It does impact adversely on the body. Good protenicious sources for older adults are curd, milk, eggs, oat meal, almonds, spinach and beef.

2.4       Lipids:

Sufficient intake of lipids more particularly omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids prevent a person from dementia, CVD’s, hair loss, tissue inflammation, improper digestion, poor kidney function and mental depression.

The recommended intake of fats for elder person are about 20-35% of your total calories.

2.5        Minerals and Vitamins:

It is highly recommended for older adults to intake 500mg of calcium each day as due to adding there is a loss of muscle mass of the person. this prevent a person from getting osteoporosis.

300mg of iron each day prevents a person from anemia. Deficiency may occur due to inadequate diet containing inadequate amounts of carbohydrates,

Common conditions like delayed wound, decreased taste and anorexia can be the cause of zinc deficiency. It can be easily cope through the proper diet. Fish, fruits and vegetables are considered as the richest source of zinc.

Folate supplements, calcium supplements and vit-D supplements must be given if the diet are inadequate.