Food for Health: Nutritional Well-being for Older Adults

Nutrition is the process by which we obtain energy for our body from what we eat and drink. Food is fuel, but it is much more than fuel. Food is a daily presence in our lives, and food-related practices are influenced by culture, availability, personal finances and many other factors.

Many older adults are not getting adequate nutrition. The State of Aging and Health in America 2004 report¹ found that two-thirds of American older adults are not eating the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. And despite a well-developed scientific base, controversies continue over what is best to eat. Many messages to the older adult public about nutrition are confusing, misunderstood or not culturally sensitive.

This module provides professionals working with older adults (other than dietitians) with:

• A basic understanding of the science of nutrition
• Guidelines for good nutrition including the particular nutritional needs of older adults
• Nutrition-related barriers common to older adults
• Cultural factors that influence nutrition and food-related practices
• Culturally competent practices for service providers
• How to tailor nutrition education messages to older adults
• Strategies for promoting nutritional well-being in every community, including culturally diverse communities
• Program examples that highlight innovative approaches to promoting or providing access to nutritious foods for older adults
• Nutrition education curricula and tools, several of which are available for free on the internet, including a sample two-hour program
• Screening tools and surveys

Everyone needs to eat in order to sustain life. This module gives you tools to support healthy eating in older adults so that food can become “food for health” and elders can reap the benefits of better nutritional status.

The information in this module is free for you to use in whatever way best helps your health promotion efforts. We do ask that you identify the source of the materials as: American Society on Aging Live Well, Live Long: Steps to Better Health Series, 2006.

This module was developed by Carolyn Leontos, MS, RD, CDE, University of Nevada, and Chaya Gordon, MPH, Sandra Maldague, MPH and Betsy M. Dorsett, BA of the American Society on Aging

¹ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Merck Institute of Health and Aging (2004) “State of Aging and Health in America 2004.” Available at CDC on the World Wide Web: www.cdc.gov/aging/pdf/State_of_Aging_and_Health_in_America_2004.pdf