Back to Key Areas and Session Proposals

Nutrition

The conference sessions on nutrition deal with the special nutritional needs and preferences of senior citizens as well as the influence of nutrition on the quality of life; suitable diets, research and products; specific details and benefits of diets and/or health food (e.g. olive oil or the Mediterranean diet in general); the role of social services, restaurants and tourism in a healthy diet for senior citizens.

Workshop proposal No. 4 (Andalusia):
Nutrition and ageing | Results – Opportunities – Tasks

Background

Health and diet are linked from birth, and needs vary with age. While the precise dietary needs of the elderly are still largely unknown, considerable efforts have been undertaken in recent years to advance research and practical implementation in this field. Nonetheless, the influence of diet on the ageing process still requires more in-depth study. New diets should be developed that meet the nutritional needs of the elderly while taking into account the practicalities of acquiring the ingredients, their availability in convenient packaging and reasonable cost. The significance of what we eat goes far beyond meeting physical needs. A great many social interactions come into play. For elderly people, who no longer work and often live alone, buying food or sharing a meal is a way of remaining in contact with their community, their friends and family. Many of the diseases suffered by older persons are the result of dietary factors, some of which have been operating since infancy. These factors are then compounded by changes that naturally occur with the ageing process. Another factor is the price of foods rich in micronutrients, which further discourages their consumption.

A variety of projects, often funded by International Organisations such as the EU or the World Health Organisation, have been dealing with the complex subject of nutrition in general and for the elder population in particular. Tangible results have already been produced and published.

The FOOD IN LATER LIFE Project dealt with the basic notions of choosing foods and eating meals with a view to sustaining independence and quality of life in old age. As the majority of older people live in their own homes there is a need to develop strategies, which ensure the effective delivery of nutrition in the community setting. The project set out to examine the attitudes and beliefs of older consumers and their food preferences for products such as snacks, ready-made convenience foods, functional foods and delivered meals. In addition, access to foods and social networks to support food procurement has been investigated.

The social life of many older people is focused around food. The procurement of food is an activity of social significance in all societies. The project aimed at an analysis of these social networks and their effect on access. Also, the wider influences on dietary choices in advancing age across the participating European countries has been investigated with a view to informing both large and small food companies regarding future product development and innovation. The Food in Later Life Project defined as deliverables

• Comparative information (the role of foods, food acquisition, meal planning, meal preparation skills, social networks) between men and women living alone and with others; and in eight different countries in Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe.

• Consumer friendly tools to allow manufacturers and caterers to understand food choices and food

• procurement preferences and to enable health professionals to assess food-related quality of life in older people.

• New targeted ranges of food products and food services for older people, according to identified preferences.

Similarly, the HEALTH SENSE CHOICE PROJECT recognised that an understanding of the mechanisms of food choice and acceptance is a fundamental part of all attempts to improve the competitiveness of the European food and drink sector.  Consumers today are becoming increasingly discerning; on one hand increased awareness of the contribution of optimal nutrition to the prevention of diet mediated illnesses and general feeling of well-being, has led to a demand for health promoting foods (which is desirable from an EU social and economic perspective). On another hand, increasingly active lifestyles, and now active ageing, (which can incorporate both pleasure and work) have led to an increased demand for convenience foods. As a result of these two, somewhat opposing demands, there is a need for a new generation of health promoting designer foods.

The project takes the stance that for the European food industry, the ability to innovate and maintain market share in this segment will depend critically on meeting the real and perceived needs of ageing customers. There is, therefore, a real need now to ensure that there is a more effective coupling of the European science base with market need. A critical mass of EU investment, and industry focus, is needed in order to understand, and then provide for, the changing needs, which must accompany ageing. They warn that the failure to do so will lead to an obvious weakness, which will be filled by industry outside of the EU base. Accordingly, the project sets out to bring together Nutritionists, Food Technologists, Food Chemists, Sensory Scientists, Psychologists  and Statisticians to provide Voice-of-the-Older-Consumer information which enables policy makers, R & D and consumer groups who support the elderly to provide foods appreciated by older people. 

A less economy-oriented approach has been taken in the EPIC - ELDERLY PROJECT. It is a nested-study to the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). EPIC is a European, multi-centre, prospective study to examine the role of diet on the etiology of cancer and other chronic diseases.

The EPIC-elderly branch focuses on individuals over the age of 60 years. Nine countries participating in the EPIC study, namely Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom provide data on subjects over 60 years of age. The project aims at elaborating a database, focusing on Europeans aged 60 or older, which will comprise comparable dietary, demographic, socio-economic, and health data. In addition, study findings identify the overall dietary pattern that maximises longevity, and based on this pattern, an optimal nutrition score is developed, intended as a tool to easily monitor the nutritional status of the European elderly. The results of this study are intended to assist the Commission services and governmental bodies in assessing health issues regarding the elderly and in formulating public health nutrition policies, based on scientifically sound and comparable information.

In addition to major studies of a more general nature, the EU funds studies on specific pathologies or nutriments that are of particular significance for elderly people. The results of multi-centred and cross-country research on the diets of the elderly are of interest to the health policy-makers as well as to food producers and distributors, consumer groups and healthcare professionals. This is why, under the Fifth Framework Programme, the Fair-Flow network was charged with bringing together and disseminating the results of these various studies, in particular by way of meetings and publications aimed at the various players. A report on diet and ageing was also published under the aegis of Frankie Robinson of the British Nutrition Foundation. With 32 European partners, including research centres, companies and NGOs, the Nutri-Sense Network later continued this work under the Sixth Framework Programme.

Objectives and Results

The workshop would aim at providing a concise summary of the scientific acquis on nutrition and ageing in order to identify opportunities and pending tasks for the science, industry and public authorities specialised in elder people. The different actors would have a chance to exchange ideas on these questions and come up with concrete action plans to promote a more direct cooperation that would benefit the target group, create new opportunities for the food industry, advise public institutions to render their services more efficient and inspire researches on unresolved issues.

Possible VIP Session Output

Concrete deliverables of the workshop could consist in:

• Comprehensive list of easily accessible research results, reports and brochures that inform on the scientific aquis related to nutrition and ageing. This would facilitate to the relevant actors the access to crucial information for decision making.

• Comprehensive comparative list of projects, products and services provided worldwide and especially in the EU Member States, which improve the nutrition of elder persons, such as quality standards and supervision, food supply and delivery, alternative means of acquiring food, food consumption etc.

An agreement undertaken by all present experts and representatives to create an online database, open to research institutions, industry and public authorities, that enables all members to easily access updated information on nutrition and ageing.