Download HSC 4572 – Chap 14 Older Adult

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PORTIONS OF CHAP 14 –
NUTRITION FOR CHILDREN AND
OLDER ADULTS
Valerie Schulz, MMSc, RD, LD/N, CDE
A few quick items about children
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From 12 to 24 months, a child’s diet changes from infant foods
consisting of mostly formula or breast milk to mostly modified
adult foods.
Children’s fiber intakes should equal their “age plus 5 grams.”
Carbohydrate recommendations are based on glucose use by
the brain.
A one-year-old’s brain is large for the size of the body, so the
glucose demanded by the one-year-old falls in the adult range.
A little more on children
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Children who watch more than four hours of TV a day
are least likely to eat fruits and vegetables and
more likely to be obese.
The parent must be responsible for what the child is
offered to eat, but the child should be allowed to
decide how much and even whether to eat.
Don’t bribe or force foods.
The Problem of Lead

More than 300,000 children in the U.S., most under the
age of six, have blood lead concentrations high enough to
cause mental, behavior, and other health problems.

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Older children with high blood lead may be mislabeled as
delinquent, aggressive or learning disabled.
Lead poisoning, and children’s average blood lead
concentrations have declined dramatically over the past
20 years.

Bans on leaded gasoline, leaded house paint, and leadsoldered food cans have dramatically lowered the amount of
lead in the US environment.
Lead exposure decrease

Blood lead in US children
The Later Years
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How will you age?
In what ways do you expect your appearance to
change as you age?
Will you be independent?
The Later Years

People who reach old age in good health most often:
 Are
nonsmokers
 Drink alcohol moderately
 Are highly physically active
 Maintain a healthy body weight
 An
estimated 70 to 80 percent of the average
person’s life expectancy depends on
 Lifestyle
 Genes
behaviors
determine the remaining 20 to 30 percent.
Energy and Activity
 Cross
sections of ??
Energy and Activity

Cross sections of two thighs:


On left is an older person who has maintained activity (dark is muscle, light is
fat)
On right has not kept activity up: less muscle to balance
Protein Needs
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Protein needs remain about the same for older
people as for young adults.
Choose low-fat, fiber-rich protein foods to help control
other health problems.
 Beans
(both low-fat and fiber rich)
 Lean animal tissue (low-fat, choose rest of meal w/ fiber)
Carbohydrates and Fiber

Generous carbohydrate intakes are recommended for
older adults.
 Those
with DM would still have carbs each meal, just more
controlled amounts, as we considered

Including fiber in the diet is important to avoid
constipation.
 Many
older people experience constipation for this reason
 One they feel constipated, reduces the amount they want
to eat, and the cycle continues.
Omega 3 fats & Rheumatoid Arthritis
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13 double-blind, placebo-controlled studies
involving a total of more than 500 people suggest
that omega-3 fatty acids may improve symptoms
of rheumatoid arthritis.
One of the ways it appears to work is by
decreasing the production of inflammatory
chemicals.
Although omega-3 fatty acids reduce symptoms of
rheumatoid arthritis, they don’t appear to slow the
progression of the disease.
Vitamin Needs
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Vitamin A is the only vitamin whose absorption increases
with aging.
Vitamin D synthesis declines fourfold, setting the stage for
deficiency.
Vitamin B12 absorption also declines.
Lifelong high intakes of vegetables correlate with less
macular degeneration and cataracts.
Water and the Minerals
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Dehydration is a major risk for older adults.
Total body water decreases with usual change in body
composition (why?) and so dehydration can occur quickly.

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What can a person do to stop the “usual” change in body
composition?
The thirst mechanism is imprecise and the kidneys are less
efficient in recapturing water before it is lost as urine.

In a bedridden person dehydration can lead to pressure ulcers.
Minerals

Zinc deficiencies are also common.
 Zinc
deficiency can depress the appetite and blunt the
sense of taste, leading to low food intakes and worsening
zinc status.
 When iron deficiency occurs, it is often due to low food
intake or other causes.
 Calcium absorption declines with age and people fail to
consume enough calcium-rich foods.
DETERMINE checklist
 Please
open the following link
 Try to answer two or three of the questions as one of
your grandparents, or some person in your life that is
>75 years old would answer (you don’t have to write
down or turn in)
 http://www.cdaaa.org/images/Nutritional_Checklist.p
df
 This checklist is used by many agencies to help
determine which older Americans are at nutritional risk