Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #178771
Title: CULTURAL ASPECTS OF FOOD CHOICES IN VARIOUS COMMUNITIES OF ELDERS

Author
item BERMUDEZ, ODILIA - TUFTS/HNRCA
item TUCKER, KATHERINE - TUFTS/HNRCA

Submitted to: Generations
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/22/2004
Publication Date: 9/1/2004
Citation: Bermudez, O.I., Tucker, K.L. 2004. Cultural aspects of food choices in various communities of elders. Generations. 28(3):22-27.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The older segment of the US population is growing rapidly and becoming more diverse. Food related practices of the aged, from any ethnic group, could be compromised by increased nutrient requirements, due to physiological changes associated with aging and to pathological effects of some chronic conditions, at the same time that energy intakes are decreasing. How individuals select food is associated with cultural rules that are infused with meaning. The importance that elders, in particular, place on traditional eating practices represents a challenge for interventions to modify intake to correct nutritional imbalances. We must be well informed and culturally sensitive when serving older adults from diverse backgrounds, if we are to intervene successfully.