Nutritional Determinants Of Life Long Health And Healthy Aging

Research proposal: nutritional determinants of lifelong health and healthy aging
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Introduction and overview
As people age, the risk of health problems increases and this is, especially when they are malnourished and their diets to meet the required calorie and nutrient intake. Healthy eating can be integrated in the food eating habits of the elderly, while some understand and emphasize diet and health, there are those who are dependent on others and this determines what they eat. Older and educated individuals are more likely to be conscious of their food consumption as they are well informed about the link between dieting and health outcomes (Meij et al., 2017, p.2192). Malnutrition, including obesity and under nutrition is prevalent among the elderly, highlighting the need for identifying those at risk of malnutrition to reduce the risk of health complications. Failure to meet the nutritional needs of the elderly is associated with increased risk of frailty, adverse health outcomes and decreased quality of life.
The average micronutrient and macronutrient intake differs in the population, but efforts to assess malnutrition are essential to proper physical functioning. Ideally, the health practitioners and the elderly should be informed about dieting and the effect of nutrition on health outcomes (Relph, 2016, p.16). Aging brings about various physiological changes and even he nutritional needs are different as there is reduced energy expenditure because of reduced BMR and physical activities (Leslie and Hankey, 2015, p.650). Additionally, the likelihood of chronic illnesses is higher, with many conditions affecting the fictional ability.
Significance
Even the elderly adults required well balanced diet and energy to prevent complications and undernutrition. For instance, sufficient protein intake is associated with maintaining the lean body mass while also reducing the risk of musculoskeletal problems, as amino acids in proteins affect bones and muscle fibers (Boirie, Morio, Caumon, and Cano, 2014, p. 78). As people get older the ability to utilize proteins diminishes. The essential macronutrients are equally important as the elderly are a risk of deficiency. The problems encountered to meet nutritional requirements can be related to weight issues, deficiencies, or food choices and poor dietary intake (Winter, McNaughton & Nowson, 2017, p.171). When there are few food choices, it is more likely that his will not meet the nutritional requirements and will result in malnutrition (Bell, Lee, & Tamura, 2015, p. 18).
Literature review
In a study by Grosso et al (2017) the authors sought to determine whether the Mediterranean lifestyles, including healthy eating and nutrition were associated with reducing the risk of age related adverse health outcomes. Understanding how age-related disorders progress provides insights on how to improve the quality of life social resources were also important in influencing the eating habits, and the younger generation were less likely to eat the healthier traditional foods (Grosso, 2017, p. 579). Nutrition knowledge is important to healthier lifestyles as individuals make conscious choices to be healthier.
Evidence on the health-promo...