Snacking not a bad thing for seniors
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Researchers say such snacking is OK in fact, regularly nibbling between meals can be quite good for seniors.
An Auburn University study that compared the diets of 2,002 adults aged 65 years and older found that snacking provides significantly higher amounts of energy, protein, carbohydrate and total fat, potentially vital boosters during years when the daily intake of calories is often in decline.
So while snacking could lead to obesity in younger age groups, it could ensure that seniors are consuming enough calories, said Claire Zizza, an assistant professor of nutrition at Auburn and lead author of the study, which is published in this month's Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
She said several factors, including health problems, medication and changes in taste could lead to diminished appetites and unintentional weight loss in seniors. When compared to 25-year-olds, 70-year-old men ate 1,000 to 1,200 fewer calories and the decline for women was between 600 to 800 calories per day, according to the study.
But it found that 84 percent of the adults averaged 2.5 daily snacks and that snackers consumed about 250 more calories than non-snackers 1,717.9 calories to non-snackers' 1,466 calories.
Jean Lloyd, national nutritionist for the U.S. Administration on Aging, said the study "does a couple of real important things" by indicating that healthy eating can be reached through various paths and providing guidance to health professionals.
"You're not always sure in clinical practice how to handle a patient with decreased appetite who may have other health problems. You don't know if you should tell them to eat something small after lunch because maybe then they won't be hungry later and won't eat dinner," Lloyd said.
"The answer in this article says, 'No, that's good,"' she said. "If you're a clinician or dietitian you can suggest with confidence that having a small snack mid-morning or mid-afternoon is a good behavior."
Lloyd and Zizza both caution against using the findings to justify chips, cakes, cookies and other "empty snacks." The snacks should be healthy to have the biggest benefit, Zizza said.
The study, which Zizza conducted along with Auburn graduate assistant Francis Tayie and Mark Lino of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2002.
Their study found that snackers were more likely to be white and have a higher income, but more research should be done on any race and ethnic factors, the authors said. Alcohol intakes were not different between snackers and non-snackers.
Lynelle Bumgardner, who directs the Daleville Senior Center in southeast Alabama, said a hot lunch is served there five days a week. She often sees patrons eating cookies, crackers and fruit before and after the noontime meal, which is provided using federal Meals on Wheels money and contains one-third of the agriculture department's recommended dietary allowances.
Some even purposely save the bread, cookies or juice from their lunches to eat later and load up on the snacks offered by the center to take home and share with elderly spouses, Bumgardner said.
"I think for some of them, cooking for one is too much trouble, and they'd rather just have a TV dinner or go out to eat and sometimes that's not nutritious," she said. "That's why I think the lunch meal is so important. For some of them, this is it for the day."
Spann is in agreement. She usually finds one square meal a day sufficent along with snacks.
"I used to eat three big meals a day and some more in between," she said in a recent phone interview during a lull between bingo games at the Daleville Senior Center. "I'm a Yankee I still love my potatoes. I used to like meat, but your taste buds change as you get older."
Lee Sanders, who coordinates a state program that provides Alabama seniors with low-cost medication, said wellness classes were added in January to help the state's 364 senior centers offer everything from nutrition tips to exercise ideas.
Seniors are already advised to use drink supplements to help boost their caloric intake and snacking will be added to the list, he said.
"You never get to an age where you can't eat better and thus feel better," he said. "That's the tip of today's wellness message healthier eating for a healthier lifestyle."
Including snacks.
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