Encyclopedia of Health and Medicine

A
aging, nutrition and dietary changes that occur
with Nutritional needs and dietary choices
change across the spectrum of age. Diet and nutrition
also influence the processes of aging and the
status of health.
Food Choices and Lifelong Health
Health experts recommend BREASTFEEDING for
infants, in most circumstances, from birth through
at least six months of age if possible. Breast milk
fulfills 100 percent of an infant’s NUTRITIONAL NEEDS,
provided the mother is meeting her own nutritional
needs, and provides the infant with extended
immune coverage until his or her own IMMUNE SYS-
TEM develops enough to become protective. Infants
for whom breastfeeding is not practical or appropriate
should receive fortified formulas that meet their
nutritional needs. Cow’s milk does not provide adequate
nutritional value and contains higher
amounts of sugars than infant formulas.
The nutritional needs of the toddler and older
child focus on supporting proper growth and
development. Children who learn to make nutritious
food choices, including portion size, early in
life are likely to make such choices the mainstay
of diet throughout life. Healthy children do not
require vitamin or mineral supplements and
should take them only when a doctor recommends
them.
A critical health problem among children is OBE-
SITY, which sets the stage for a plethora of health
challenges that can have lifelong consequences.
Researchers are identifying in children, especially
teens, diseases formerly the exclusive territory of
middle age such as type 2 DIABETES, OSTEOARTHRITIS,
and ATHEROSCLEROSIS. Nutritious EATING HABITS are an
important component of weight management.
However, children should not go on “diets” or have
176
food intake restricted without precise instructions
from a doctor or nutritionist.
Health Changes and Nutrition
Beginning in middle age people start to experience
physical changes that alter their ability to digest
foods and absorb NUTRIENTS. The STOMACH produces
less acid, and foods may stay in the stomach
longer before being digested enough to progress to
the SMALL INTESTINE. The stomach also produces
less intrinsic factor, a biochemical essential for the
absorption of vitamin B 12 (cyanocobalamin). Dental
conditions and changes to the gums (such as
PERIODONTAL DISEASE) may result in lost TEETH and
difficulty chewing. Perceptions of taste and smell
may change, altering the desire for certain foods.
Other changes include a generalized slowing of
the metabolic rate, which affects digestion and
nutrient absorption, and a decreased need for
nutrients (fewer calories).
Health conditions with metabolic consequences,
such as diabetes and GALLBLADDER DISEASE,
become more prevalent with advancing age.
Health conditions for which nutrition plays a role,
such as CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE (CVD), also become
more prevalent. Other chronic health conditions
may accelerate the body’s use of certain nutrients.
Both men and women begin to experience
changes in BONE DENSITY and BONE mass in middle
age, women in an especially pronounced manner
after MENOPAUSE. Without proper vitamin D and
calcium intake, OSTEOMALACIA and OSTEOPOROSIS are
significant threats to bone health.
The very old (80 and older) may have mobility,
independence, and economic issues that prevent
them from eating appropriately. Debilitating conditions
such as ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE, DEMENTIA, and
PARKINSON’S DISEASE are more common among the