WORLD / Health
Snacking can be good for older adults
(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-05-08 10:44
NEW YORK - A couple snacks each day might help elderly adults ensure they
get enough calories and needed nutrients, a study suggests.
For young and middle-aged adults, snacking can be the enemy of the
waistline. As people age, however, their calorie intake tends to drop,
either from appetite loss, medical conditions or difficulty buying food.
This puts some older adults at risk of inadequate nutrition and
unintended weight loss.
Research suggests that even among relatively healthy people in their 60s
and beyond, those with low calorie, protein and carbohydrate intakes die
sooner.
In the new study, published in the Journal of the American Dietetic
Association, researchers found that snacks were an important source of
older adults' daily calories and nutrients. And in general, snackers took
in more calories, protein, carbohydrates and fat than non-snackers did.
While that could be a problem for other age groups, the extra nutrients
might benefit elderly men and women, according to the study authors.
Older adults who notice that they've lost weight, or that their appetite
has waned, might want to add some snacks to their daily menu, said lead
author Dr. Claire A. Zizza, an assistant professor of nutrition at Auburn
University in Alabama.
She and her colleagues based their findings on data from a national
health and nutrition survey that included 2,000 adults age 65 and older.
Overall, 84 percent said that they snacked in addition to eating meals.
On average, snacks accounted for one-quarter of the study participants'
daily calories and carbohydrates, and 14 percent of their protein.
Snackers ate about 250 calories more each day than non-snackers did.
That doesn't mean that older adults should have a couple bowls of potato
chips each day for the sake of their health, according to Zizza.
People should avoid "empty calories," she told Reuters Health, and
instead choose healthful snacks like fruits, vegetables, yogurt, tuna and
whole grains.
On the other hand, older adults who are eating a nutritionally sound diet
shouldn't feel they have to give up their potato chips or desserts, Zizza
noted.
"Favorite foods can be a great source of pleasure," she said.
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