Nutrition And Healthy Aging

Course overview

Increasing scientific, clinical, and social interest helps us understand the relationship between nutrition and aging. Eating well is essential in all stages of life but is especially important for maintaining good health and slowing the aging process in older adults. Nutrition influences the risk of contracting acute and chronic diseases and affects the physiological and biological processes of aging. Making healthy food choices also has social impacts, since healthy adults are more productive members of society and utilize fewer resources on multiple levels than unhealthy adults. The outcome for the learner is to identify and describe the nutrient needs specific to the older adult, common age-related changes that impact nutritional status, nutrition-related diseases common in older adults, the impact of foodborne illnesses on the health of aging adults, the United States' governmental MyPlate food guidelines, and the purpose of the Older Americans Nutrition Program (OANP).