Working with Seniors: Health, Financial, and Social Issues

Chapter 11: Senior Nutrition, Fitness, and Healthy Lifestyles

After a mild stroke, Rosemary stopped most of her usual activities such as joining friends for dinner dates and attending biweekly exercise class. Rosemary had lived alone all her life and had always enjoyed her solitude after long days working as a manager. But at age 76 and comfortably retired she spent almost all her time by herself. ote

A year after the stroke Rosemary went to visit a longtime family friend, an internist, for a checkup. Clinically Rosemary was okay, but the doctor was shocked by her appearance —she had lost a lot of weight, she was off kilter when she walked, and she had trouble getting in and out of chairs. When he gently asked, “Rosemary, how is your appetite? What are you doing for exercise? Are you getting out of the house?” she shrugged and did not answer.

“If she doesn’t start eating well and exercising it is only a matter of time before this dear lady is going to fall and break something,” Bob thought to himself. He referred Rosemary to a geriatric dietician; encouraged her to start walking daily, gradually building up to a mile; and asked her to come back in two months. But Rosemary never followed through.

A month and a half after Rosemary’s visit to her doctor, he received a call that she was in the hospital with broken wrists.

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Walk Across Arizona is an annual 16-week walking program designed for teams of up to 10 people. The teams have a friendly competition to see who can get their pals, neighbors, coworkers, and family out to build a healthy habit and walk for fitness. At one retirement community participating in the program, the team captain is a 90-year-old woman; one of the team members is 93 years of age, the oldest participant in the program; and 82-year-old identical twin sisters walk an average of 16 miles per week.

“We love to exercise, but it isn’t to try to live to be 100,” says one of the twins. “We just want good quality of life.”

Introduction

Scientific research confirms that good nutrition, exercise, and healthy lifestyles are key to longevity and prevention of chronic conditions such as osteoporosis, diabetes, and heart disease. Seniors seeking overall good health and increased longevity need to address the following important components:

• proper diet and nutrition

• physical fitness

• functional fitness

• strength training

• aerobic conditioning

• muscle building and fat loss

• not smoking

• restricting alcohol intake

According to the Administration on Aging the combination of unhealthy eating and physical inactivity is responsible for 14 percent of preventable deaths per year (AoA, 2003). Only tobacco use causes more preventable deaths in the U.S.

Poor nutritional health results from a variety of factors, including eating too little or too much, eating the same foods day after day, or not eating nutritious foods such as fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and fiber. Poor health may also result from skipping meals, a practice that an estimated one in five adults performs daily.

Nutritional health can also decline due to acute or chronic illnesses that cause a change in eating habits. For instance, diseases that adversely affect oral health (i.e., mouth, teeth, gums) can make eating unpleasant or even painful. In fact, poor oral health is not uncommon in seniors. Studies show that many have missing, loose, or unhealthy teeth, making eating difficult. Poorly fitting dentures are also cited as a common problem that exacerbates eating difficulties.

Other contributing factors to poor nutrition in seniors include . . .