Hidden Hunger: Solutions for America's Aging Populations

Manfred Eggersdorfer; Ucheoma Akobundu; Regan L Bailey; Julie Shlisky; Amy R Beaudreault; Gilles Bergeron; Robert B Blancato; Jeffrey B Blumberg; Megan W Bourassa; Filomena Gomes; Gordon Jensen; Mary Ann Johnson; Douglas Mackay; Keri Marshall; Simin Nikbin Meydani; Katherine L Tucker

doi:10.3390/nu10091210

Hidden Hunger: Solutions for America's Aging Populations

Nutrients. 2018 Sep 1;10(9):1210. doi: 10.3390/nu10091210.

Authors

Manfred Eggersdorfer^{1

2}, Ucheoma Akobundu³, Regan L Bailey⁴, Julie Shlisky⁵, Amy R Beaudreault⁶, Gilles Bergeron⁷, Robert B Blancato⁸, Jeffrey B Blumberg⁹, Megan W Bourassa¹⁰, Filomena Gomes¹¹, Gordon Jensen¹², Mary Ann Johnson¹³, Douglas Mackay¹⁴, Keri Marshall¹⁵, Simin Nikbin Meydani¹⁶, Katherine L Tucker¹⁷

Affiliations

¹ DSM Nutritional Products AG, Human Nutrition and Health, 4002 Basel, Switzerland. [email protected].
² Department of Healthy Ageing, University Medical Center Groningen, 9713 GZ Groningen, The Netherlands. [email protected].
³ Meals on Wheels, Arlington, VA 22202, USA. [email protected].
⁴ Department of Nutrition Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. [email protected].
⁵ The Sackler Institute for Nutrition Science, The New York Academy of Sciences, New York, NY 10007, USA. [email protected].
⁶ Department of Nutrition, UC Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA. [email protected].
⁷ The Sackler Institute for Nutrition Science, The New York Academy of Sciences, New York, NY 10007, USA. [email protected].
⁸ National Coordinator, Defeat Malnutrition Today, Washington, DC 20006, USA. [email protected].
⁹ Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging and Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111, USA. [email protected].
¹⁰ The Sackler Institute for Nutrition Science, The New York Academy of Sciences, New York, NY 10007, USA. [email protected].
¹¹ The Sackler Institute for Nutrition Science, The New York Academy of Sciences, New York, NY 10007, USA. [email protected].
¹² Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA. [email protected].
¹³ Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA. [email protected].
¹⁴ Council for Responsible Nutrition, Washington, DC 20036, USA. [email protected].
¹⁵ DSM Nutritional Products, Columbia, MD 21045, USA. [email protected].
¹⁶ Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging and Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111, USA. [email protected].
¹⁷ Biomedical & Nutritional Sciences Department, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA 01854, USA. [email protected].

Abstract

The global population, including the United States, is experiencing a demographic shift with the proportion of older adults (aged ≥ 65 years) growing faster than any other age group. This demographic group is at higher risk for developing nutrition-related chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes as well as infections such as influenza and pneumonia. As a result, an emphasis on nutrition is instrumental for disease risk reduction. Unfortunately, inadequate nutrient status or deficiency, often termed hidden hunger, disproportionately affects older adults because of systematic healthcare, environmental, and biological challenges. This report summarizes the unique nutrition challenges facing the aging population and identifies strategies, interventions, and policies to address hidden hunger among the older adults, discussed at the scientific symposium "Hidden Hunger: Solutions for America's Aging Population", on March 23, 2018.

Keywords: health; nutrition; older adults; policy.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Age Factors
Aged
Congresses as Topic
Diet, Healthy*
Feeding Behavior
Female
Geriatric Assessment
Healthy Aging*
Humans
Male
Noncommunicable Diseases / epidemiology
Noncommunicable Diseases / prevention & control*
Nutritional Status*
Nutritive Value*
Policy Making
Protective Factors
Recommended Dietary Allowances* / legislation & jurisprudence
Risk Factors
Risk Reduction Behavior
United States / epidemiology

Grants and funding

Not applicable/DSM