No abstract

During recent decades, the concept of health promotion has become a legitimate part of health care because of the aging of the postwar baby boom generation. As this population ages, the potential strain on health care systems will increase because the greatest use of health care services occurs during the last years of life. In older adults there are many correctable health factors that can be assessed through screening protocols. Hypertension, cholesterol, hearing, vision, diabetes, and cancer screening are well integrated into health promotion programs; nutrition promotion programs are not as well integrated. Reluctance to develop health promotion programs for older adults exists because of a perception that they would not follow such plans or change their lifestyles. However, longitudinal studies have shown that health promotion activities extend the number of years of health in older people although the relationship weakens in older age. Changes in diet and exercise patterns are most effective in the prevention of nutrition-related conditions when they are instituted early in life, but positive effects can occur at any age. If nutritional interventions are instituted early, a substantial reduction in health care expenditures may result from a decrease in the incidence or the delayed onset of these conditions. Changes in behaviors (reducing salt and fat intake) were positively associated with a belief that consuming a healthful diet would contribute to better health. The use of a variety of adult education theories and models will enhance behavior changes that lead to more healthful habits and enable a health educator to be successful in effecting change.

Body composition changes as people get older. One of the noteworthy alterations is the reduction in total body protein. A decrease in skeletal muscle is the most noticeable manifestation of this change but there is also a reduction in other physiologic proteins such as organ tissue, blood components, and immune bodies as well as declines in total body potassium and water. This contributes to impaired wound healing, loss of skin elasticity, and an inability to fight infection. The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for adults for protein is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. Protein tissue accounts for 30% of whole-body protein turnover but that rate declines to 20% or less by age 70. The result of this phenomenon is that older adults require more protein/kilogram body weight than do younger adults. Recently, it has become clear that the requirement for exogenous protein is at least 1.0 gram/kilogram body weight. Adequate dietary intake of protein may be more difficult for older adults to obtain. Dietary animal protein is the primary source of high biological value protein, iron, vitamin B(12), folic acid, biotin and other essential nutrients. In fact, egg protein is the standard against which all other proteins are compared. Compared to other high-quality protein sources like meat, poultry and seafood, eggs are the least expensive. The importance of dietary protein cannot be underestimated in the diets of older adults; inadequate protein intake contributes to a decrease in reserve capacity, increased skin fragility, decreased immune function, poorer healing, and longer recuperation from illness.