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You are here: Home / Professional Development Tools / Hot Topics A-Z / Nutrition for Older Adults (formerly "Elderly Nutrition") 
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Senior citizens sitting in their front porch
Find information and resources that provide background and support for nutrition education efforts with older adults, including Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs), statistics, reports and guidelines, brochures, and online tools.
Statistics
AgingStats.Gov
Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics.
A collection of statistics relating to aging, published by government agencies.
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Faststats A to Z, Older Persons' Health
DHHS. CDC. National Center for Health Statistics.
Health statistics on the elderly including health status, life expectancy, leading cause of death, and percent of elderly with limited activity capability.
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Older adults bikingProfile of Older Americans
DHHS. Administration on Aging.
Statistics on aging includes key subject areas, such as income, health care, and employment. It includes both narrative and statistical charts. Updated annually.
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General Information
Healthy Aging for Older Adults: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
DHHS. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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The Role of Nutrition in Maintaining Health in the Nation's Elderly: Evaluating Coverage of Nutrition Services for the Medicare Population
IOM. Food and Nutrition Board
Online book discusses the role of nutrition therapy in the management of a number of diseases, provides recommendations for nutrition services for the elderly, and considers how the coverage policy should be approached and practiced.
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Dietary Reference Intakes for Older Adults
National Policy and Resource Center on Nutrition and Aging.
Tables include DRI values for men and women ages 51 to 70 and over 70. Also compares the nutrient availability of Title III and Title VI meals with nutrient levels required to meet Older Americans Act Nutrition Program (OAANP) requirements.
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Older woman with groceriesEating Well as We Age
DHHS. Food and Drug Administration.
Handout addresses financial barriers to eating well, chewing issues, cooking issues, shopping, loss of appetite, upset stomach, and the Nutrition Facts panel.
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A Focus on Nutrition for the Elderly: It's Time to Take a Closer Look  (PDF|286 KB)
USDA. Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.
Summarizes the overall diet quality of Older Americans, ages 65 and over, using the Healthy Eating Index. Includes background information on the Healthy Eating Index.
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Fact Sheet: "Food Stamps and the Elderly"
Food Research and Action Center.
Provides data on food insecurity, participation, benefit levels, and income. September 2001
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Exercise for Older Adults
DHHS. NIH. National Institute on Aging.
Interactive web site that discusses the benefits of exercise for older adults, safety, sample exercises and charting progress. Features pictures of active older adults, video clips, and quizzes. The "Frequently Asked Questions" section addresses nutrition and equipment needs.
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Healthy Aging: Preventing Disease and Improving Quality of Life Among Older Americans
DHHS. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Addresses a variety of age related concerns. This includes The health and economic effects of an aging society, opportunities to improve older Americans’ health and quality of life, the CDC's role in promoting healthy aging and ideas for future direction of the CDC. Also available in Portable Document Format (PDF|112 KB).
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Image of shopping cart from the Food Stamp Nutrition Connection logo.Food Stamps for the Elderly Resource Center
Food Research and Action Center (FRAC).
Interactive web page containing information on issues surrounding senior nutrition (federal nutrition programs, etc.). The page includes links to other web pages, facts sheets and resource materials.
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Food Insufficiency and the Nutritional Status of the Elderly Population  (PDF|20 KB)
USDA. Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.
Compares the nutritional status of food insufficient versus food sufficient people ages 65 and older. Uses data from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
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The Graying of America
USDA. ERS. Food Review.
A series of articles discuss food and older Americans. Specific issues addressed include: demographic characteristics, diet quality, food expenditures, food security, food assistance program use, and risk of foodborne disease. September 2002
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Growing Older, Eating Better
DHHS. Food and Drug Administration.
Addresses money matters, food assistance programs, single life, special diets, physical issues, and food labels.
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MyPyramid for Older AdultsA Modified MyPyramid for Older Adults
Tufts University.
This graphic nutrition education tool is modeled after the 2005 USDA MyPyramid and is designed to address the special needs of older adults. Updated January 2008
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Nutrition and Aging
Colorado State University Cooperative Extension.
Fact sheet includes information on buying more for less, sensory changes, structural changes, special dietary needs, and food preparation for one.
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Seniors and Food Safety
DHHS. FDA. Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
Information on shopping, preparing and bringing food home safely. Two face sheets include information on "Food Safety for Seniors" and "Special Handling for Ready-to-Eat, Refrigerated Foods"
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Seniors Farmer's Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP)
USDA. Food and Nutrition Service.
The SFMNP grants are used to provide coupons to low income seniors for eligible foods at farmers' markets, roadside stands, and community supported agriculture programs.
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Audience Specific
Older personsCultural Competency: The Many Faces of Aging
DHHS. Administration on Aging.
Fact sheet on cultural competency and barriers to access for ethnic aging Americans.
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Reports/Guidelines
Factors Affecting Nutrient Intakes of the Elderly.
USDA. ERS.
This exploratory investigation provides estimates of the effects of selected characteristics of the household and its constituents on individual nutrient consumption of elderly heads of households. Possible nutrition interventions focus on targeted audiences and programs.
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Food Assistance: Options for Improving Nutrition for Older Americans  (PDF|364 KB)
United States General Accounting Office.
"This report examines four programs: the Food Stamp program, Child and Adult Care Food Program, Elderly Nutrition Program and the Commodity Supplemental Program. Barriers to use and strategies to increase participation among older adults are addressed." August 2000
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Reaching the Working Poor and Poor Elderly Study: What We Learned and Recommendations for Future Research (PDF| 137KB)
USDA. FNS. Office of Analysis and Evaluation.
Provides an overview of the study, current knowledge about food assistance program nonparticipation, and recommendations for collecting more information. December 1999
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The State of Aging and Health in America 2004  (PDF|327 KB)
Merck Institute of Aging and Health and Gerontological Society of America.
This report studies the health of the aging population and provides a national and state by state report card.
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USDA Symposium on Nutrition and Aging, September 2000  (PDF|261 KB)
United States Department of Agriculture.
Symposium Proceedings include minority aging, nutrition's impact on healthy aging, muscles and bones, arthritis, and mental health.
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Online Tools
Determine Your Nutritional Health
New York State Office for Aging.
On-line assessment uses the DETERMINE criteria established by the Nutrition Screening Initiative. Links from this page describe the DETERMINE warning signs of nutritional risk and provide suggestions to improve nutritional status in the elderly. The Nutritional Screening Initiative has a similar tool in pdf.
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Last Modified: Nov 2, 2009  
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					   Adult Nutrition
 
					   Behavior Change
 
					   Child Nutrition
 
					   Childhood Overweight
 
					   Dietary Fat and Fat Replacers
 
					   Dietary Supplements
 
					   Ethnic/Cultural Groups
 
					   Food Insecurity and Hunger
 
					   Food Labels
 
					   Food Preparation
 
					   Food Resource Management
 
					   Food Safety
 
					   Fruits and Vegetables
 
					   Health Literacy
 
					   Health Statistics
 
					   High Blood Pressure Prevention
 
					   Historical Information
 
					   Nutrition and Disability
  
					  Nutrition for Older Adults (formerly "Elderly Nutrition")
 
					   Osteoporosis Prevention
 
					   Overweight/Obesity Prevention
 
					   Physical Activity
 
					   Sugars
 
					   Vegetarian Nutrition
    SNAP-Ed Personnel Support Resources
Logo for the Eat Smart, Live Strong Activity Kit.
See Also
    Food and Nutrition Information Center's General Nutrition Resource List for Older Adults
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