Food choice of older adults

Food preferences in older adults and seniors takes into consideration how people's experiences change with aging; that is, including conditions like taste, diet (nutrition) and food choice. Primarily, this occurs when most people approach the age of 70 or older. Influencing variables can include: social and cultural environment; male or female sex; personal habits; as well as physical and mental health. Scientific studies explain why people like or dislike certain foods.

Science of food preferences

The Food Guide Pyramid

There is a lot of work and scientific research that goes into examining the variables that cause the elderly to change food preferences. An example of these studies would be an experiment that the Elderly Nutrition Program (ENP) was executing. To improve the quality of meal programs, the ENP explored how food preferences varied depending on biological sex and ethnic groups. A total of 2,024 participants in the ENP aged 60 years or older were interviewed. A majority of the participants were female, served by congregate meal programs, or meals served in community settings such as senior centers, churches or senior housing communities.

A general impression of the meals and preferences for 13 food groups (fresh fruit, chicken, soup, salad, vegetables, potatoes, meat, sandwiches, pasta, canned fruit, legumes, deli meats, and ethnic foods) were assessed. After adjusting other variables, older males were significantly more likely to prefer deli meats, meat, legumes, canned fruit, and ethnic foods compared to females. In addition, compared with African Americans, "Caucasians demonstrated higher percentages of preference for 9 of 13 food groups including pasta, meat, and fresh fruit.

To improve the quality of the ENP, and to increase dietary compliance of the older adults to the programs, the nutritional services require a strategic meal plan that solicits and incorporates older adults' food preferences".

Influences on food preference

There are multiple parts of an elderly person's life that can affect their preferences in foods. Aspects like the environment, mental & physical health, and lifestyle choices are all contributing to the way a person decides on what foods they happen to like or dislike.

An article about Influences On Cognitive Function In Older Adults (Neuropsychology, November 2014) states that "the nutritional status of older adults relates to their quality of life, ability to live independently, and their risk for developing costly chronic illnesses. An aging adult’s nutritional well-being can be affected by multiple socio-environmental factors, including access to healthy and affordable foods, congregate meal sites, and nutritious selections at restaurants. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, American Society for Nutrition, and the Society for Nutrition Education have identified an older adult's access to a balanced diet to be critical for the prevention of disease and promotion of nutritional wellness so that quality of life and independence can be maintained throughout the aging process and excessive health care costs can be reduced". An individual's surroundings and health can affect what foods they choose and prefer to eat.

By age: younger and older adults

As people get older, their bodies change. This includes their taste buds, their needs of certain vitamins and nutrients, and their desire for different types of food. In a study by the Monell Chemical Senses Center, fifty young-adults and forty-eight elderly subjects participated in the study. Young subjects ranged from eighteen to thirty-five years of age and elderly subjects were sixty-five years of age or older. There were more females than males in the study, but there were approximately equal proportions of males and females in the two age groups.

The study observed that younger females had stronger cravings for sweets than elderly females. They related this difference in preference with the younger female test subject's menstrual cycles and the fact that elderly women no longer go through menopause. Also the study determined that "ninety-one percent of the cycle-associated cravings were said to occur in the second half of the cycle (between ovulation and the start of menstruation)".

These physical changes can explain why someone of an older age might not be getting the nutrition they need. As taste buds change with age, certain foods might not be seen as appetizing. For example, a study done by Dr. Phyllis B. Grzegorcyzk says that as we age, our sense for tasting salty foods goes away slowly. When elderly people in care homes eat often frozen meals that contain large amounts of salt, they will not enjoy it. This could lead to depression, anxiety, or thoughts of suicide.

By biological sex: elderly male and female

Elderly couple eating lunch together

Not only are there differences in food preferences between ages, but in biological sex as well. In a study conducted by the Elderly Nutrition Program (ENP), they discovered preferences of male and female subjects throughout 13 individual food groups (fresh fruit, chicken, soup, salad, vegetables, potatoes, meat, sandwiches, pasta, canned fruit, legumes, deli meats, and ethnic groups).

Through this study, it was apparent that older males "were significantly more likely to prefer deli meats, meat, legumes, canned fruit, and ethnic foods compared to females".

Another study by the Monell Chemical Senses Center concluded that females had significantly more cravings for sweets and for chocolate than males; and the study results confirmed that males had more cravings or preferences for entrees than sweets.

By personal health

Physical health

With age, some people tend to avoid food and are unwilling to modify their diets due to oral health problems. These oral health problems, like dentures (false teeth) not fitting properly or gum disease, are associated with significant differences in dietary quality, which is a measure of the quality of the diet using a total of eight recommendations regarding the consumption of foods and nutrients from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Approaches to minimize food avoidance and promote changes to the diets of people that have eating difficulties due to oral health conditions are needed desperately because without being able to chew or take in food properly, their health is effected drastically and their food preferences are limited greatly (to soft or liquids only).

Declines in physical health can cause deterioration in diet due to difficulties in preparing and eating food as a result of conditions like arthritis.

At the 2010 "Providing Healthy and Safe Foods As We Age" conference sponsored by the Institute of Medicine, Dr. Katherine Tucker noted that the elderly are less active and have lower metabolism with a consequent lower need to eat. Also, they tend to have existing diseases and/or take medications that interfere with nutrient absorption. With changing dietary requirements, one study developed a modified food pyramid for adults over 70.

Mental health

The impact of certain diseases can also impact the quality of the food in the elderly population, especially those that are in care facilities. More often than not, when some has Alzheimer's disease they do not receive the care that is needed, and a decline in one's mental health is seen. It is a proven fact that those who make connections with others live longer. When a person falls victim to such a disease that limits mental capability, they could die earlier than they would've if they did not have the disease. This can be changed by proper care and an overall sense of well-being, however when a person does not receive the proper nourishment and food choices, they will fall victim to this.

As a result of certain mental health conditions and/or diseases—like Alzheimer's—a person's food preferences might become affected. With certain diseases, people tend to develop specific preferences or distaste for various types of food. For example, people with Alzheimer's (which is the most common form of dementia), experience many big and small changes as a result of their symptoms. One change identified by Suszynski in "How Dementia Tampers With Taste Buds" is a dementia patient's taste buds, which contain the receptors for taste. Since they don’t experience flavor the way they once did, people with dementia often change their eating habits and take on entirely new food preferences. In this study, the researchers found that these dementia patients had trouble identifying flavors and appeared to have lost the ability to remember tastes; therefore, leading to a theory that dementia caused the patients to lose their knowledge of flavors. That, in turn, can lead to changes in eating behaviors.

Psychological conditions can affect elderly eating habits. For instance, length of widowhood may affect nutrition. As well, depression in elders is associated with a risk of malnutrition.

By lifestyle choices

Elderly people can make different lifestyle choices in eating healthy. Dietary choices are often a result of personal beliefs and preferences.

A survey based on self-reporting found that many rural community-dwelling elderly Iowans adopted eating habits that provided inadequate levels of some key nutrients and most did not take supplements to correct the deficiencies. In contrast, a restaurant study found that the impact of a lifestyle of health and sustainability on healthy food choices is much stronger for senior diners than for non-senior diners.

Other research has found that adults regardless of age will tend to increase fruit and vegetable consumption following a diagnosis of breast, prostate or colorectal cancer.

By social environment and conditioning

The environment can greatly impact food preferences of older adults. Those around 75-years old and older tend to have limited mobility due to health conditions and rely on others for food shopping and preparation.

Homebound seniors tend to receive one meal per day (several fresh and frozen meals may be included in a single delivery) by communities that offer congregate meals, or meals served in community settings such as senior centers, churches or senior housing communities. These congregate meal programs are encouraged to offer these elderly people a meal at least five times per week.

Less access to transportation may also be an issue, especially in rural areas where there is less public transportation. However, an Iowa study failed to find problems in purchasing food among elderly in rural open country and towns, as those without their own transportation relied on family, friends and senior services. A separate study found a slight difference in urban areas with elderly who did not own a car. Aside from transportation, the kind and quality of available food can also shape food choice if a person lives in a so-called "food desert".

Social network type can also affect individuals food choices in our elderly population as well. For example, a person that has a larger social network and lower economic status is more likely to have proper nutrition that someone who has a smaller social network and higher economic status. This means that it is important for our elderly populations to keep social networks so they can live longer and have a more active lifestyle, especially when it comes to food.

See also

• Assisted living
• Centenarian
• Elderly care
• Food choice
• Food studies
• Illnesses related to poor nutrition
• List of nutrition guides
• Meals on Wheels
• Nutrition
• Portion size
• Research into centenarians