Nutrition of the Elderly: Introduction

At the beginning of this century, only 4% of the population of the United States was over 65 years of âge. By 1976 this proportion had risen to 11% and is projected to attain 14% by the year 2000 (1). This is important because senior citizens make disproportionate demands on health care. An interesting study in Massachusetts emphasizes the extent of the needs of senior citizens for health care as they âge (2). The authors compute the number of years an elderly person is likely to live independently and the number of subséquent years he or she will need assistance in rising from bed, washing, dressing, and/or eating. Thus, for persons aged 65 to 69 years, it is computed that independent living will continue for an average of 9.3 years for men and 10.6 years for women. This is followed by 3.8 years of dépendent living for men and 8.9 years for women. One can speculate that independent living is determined by the continued adequacy of the neuromuscular System, and that loss of this occurs at the same rate in both men and women, whereas longer survival of women in a dépendent state may reflect their slower development of lethal cardiovascular diseases. Nutrition has been recognized only recently as an important factor influencing the functional outcome of aging. In the course of the symposium, it will become évident that nutrients consumed during earlier adult life as well as in the later years can affect the terminal years of the life span. To provide some order while analyzing the évidence of dietary involvement in the aging process, we can assemble the data in several catégories. First, changes in body composition and in organ function occur throughout adult life, making old âge the récipient of adverse processes begun at earlier âges (e.g., loss of bone density leading to osteoporosis and fracture). Second, many degenerative diseases first assert themselves in middle life and persist into old âge (e.g., cardiovascular diseases). Nutritional habits are prime factors in the etiology of some of thèse diseases. Third, the amounts of many individual dietary nutrients needed to maintain optimal health in old âge still require quantification. This is important because the elderly tend to consume less food (3). This conférence emphasizes factors underlying nutrient needs for the elderly. The présent workshop provides a wide range of topics relevant to nutrition and aging and to old âge. It includes the sociology of aging, an extensive account of