Health & Medicine - Posted by Sara LaJeunesse-Penn State on Tuesday, January 15, 2013 11:55 - 7 Comments 
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(2 votes, average: 3.50 out of 5) Loading ...At advanced age, healthy diet may not matter
"The results suggest that if you live to be this old, then there may be little to support the use of overly restrictive dietary prescriptions, especially where food intake may already be inadequate," says study author Gordon Jensen. "However, people who live on prudent diets all their lives are likely to have better health outcomes." (Credit: iStockphoto)
PENN STATE (US) — For people over 75, eating a sugary, fatty diet doesn’t make a difference—and overly restrictive diets may not improve their health, say researchers.
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The text of this article by Futurity is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License.
“Historically people thought of older persons as tiny and frail,” says Gordon Jensen, head of the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Penn State, “but that paradigm has changed for many older persons. Currently, 30 percent or more may be overweight, and by 2030, almost 30 percent are projected to be obese, not just overweight.
“Recent reports even suggest that there may be survival benefits associated with overweight and mild obesity status among the elderly.”
“We all know that adverse dietary patterns, such as a Western diet containing high amounts of fat or a diet containing high amounts of refined sugar, both of which may contribute to obesity, are associated with adverse medical conditions and health outcomes for many people, but until now, the health effects of these types of poor diets have not been characterized for people who live to 75 years of age and older,” says postdoctoral fellow Pao Ying Hsao.
“This is one of the first studies to examine obesity-related health outcomes and dietary patterns in such aged persons,” Jensen says.
In the study, which appears in the Journal of Nutrition Health and Aging, the team followed 449 individuals for five years who were on average 76.5 years old at the beginning of the study.
At study baseline, the team assessed the participants’ dietary patterns by calling each of them by telephone four or five times during a 10-month period and asking them about their diets over the previous 24 hours. The participants were categorized as adhering to one of three different dietary patterns.
The “sweets and dairy” pattern was characterized by the largest proportions of energy from baked goods, milk, sweetened coffee and tea, and dairy-based desserts, and the lowest intakes of poultry.
The “health-conscious” pattern was characterized by relatively higher intakes of pasta, noodles, rice, whole fruit, poultry, nuts, fish, and vegetables, and lower intakes of fried vegetables, processed meats, and soft drinks.
The “Western” pattern was characterized by higher intakes of bread, eggs, fats, fried vegetables, alcohol, and soft drinks, and the lowest intakes of milk and whole fruit.
Using outpatient electronic medical records, the researchers identified whether the participants developed cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertension (high blood pressure), and metabolic syndrome during the five-year period.
They found no relationship between dietary pattern and prevalence of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, or mortality in the participants; however, they did find an increased risk of hypertension in people who followed the “sweets and dairy” pattern.
“We don’t know if the participants had been following these dietary patterns their entire adult lives, but we suspect they had been because people don’t usually change dietary practices all that much,” Jensen says.
“The results suggest that if you live to be this old, then there may be little to support the use of overly restrictive dietary prescriptions, especially where food intake may already be inadequate. However, people who live on prudent diets all their lives are likely to have better health outcomes.”
The United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service funded this work. Other authors on the paper include researchers from Penn State and Geisinger Healthcare System.
The research is part of a decades-long collaborative study between Penn State and the Geisinger Healthcare System on the effects of nutritional status and diet on the health of more than 20,000 older people living in Pennsylvania.
Source: Penn State
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7 Comments
Sue Patterson
Melissa C
I’m all for people eating what they want, but I’m thinking if they go from healthy eating to poor eating, they will probably feel a lot worse health wise. I definitely feel the difference between eating a chickpea salad or a burger and fries at 26 so I’m assuming it would be the same for age 75.
Murad I
There are so many other factors contributing to the state of health at this old age, in addition to the type of diet to which people adhere (like sports engagement both at an old age and during the entire adult life, eating habits/dietary patterns during the entire adult life, genetical predispositions, the kind of environment (social and natural) in which people have lived, including during their entire adult lives, and the like) that to limit the state of their health to one factor and a limited temporal context only is not only flawed, but also dangerous. While the role nutrition plays in defining specific health patterns over a short period of time may not be noticeable at this old age (given a multitude of factors contributing to this effect and having operated over a far longer span of time), changing diet from healthy to poor — something this kind of article may encourage many to do — may well contribute to the elder’s deteriorated health condition.
Jack22
At an advanced age,whatever diet you follow doesn’t seem to matter because your body seems to have stopped responding and regenerating or retaining the shape and physique.That is one of the side effects of old age.One of the thing that we ought to keep in mind is that whatever diet we follow in our early ears or the exercise regime that we follow are reflected in our old age.If we lead a healthy life,we are more likely to remain fit and healthy in our old age.But in case if we follow an unhealthy diet,we are more likely to suffer health concerns in our old age and at that point our body loses its ability to absorb the essential nutrients thereby reducing effects of health diets that we follow.
I think the whole article is a stack of BULL to avoid treating seniors. I get tired of being told “well you’re older now and it just doesn’t work.” Get of your duff and find out why it doesn’t work. I will continue to eat my apple a day and avoid McDonalds, etc! I am over 75 and certainly will NOT change my eating habits. Medicare should be for the politicians and not seniors.
Now a days, a healthy diet is necessary for people of all age groups. Because a diet, not only effects our body structure , but also on our daily routine. Eat quality food in 5 meals a day. EAT BIT, STAY FIT..
This is a great article. Eating healthy should start at an early age to prevent certain diseases associated with aging. I firmly believe that you are what you eat and the right diet will truly help you stay fit and healthy as you age.
NOW they tell me. I’m 76 and I’ve been denying myself all the “good stuff” for 20 years! McDonalds, get ready!