Sections
Health Promotion in the Elderly | Mental Health, Nutritional Status, and Physical Activity:
A Complex Interplay | Impact of Mental Health Status on Diet and Physical
Fitness | Alcoholism | Interaction of Treatments With Nutrition and Physical
Activity | Achieving Optimal Nutrition and Physical Fitness
in Later Life | General Nutrition Recommendations | General Physical Activity Recommendations | Conclusion | Key Points | References | Suggested Readings
Excerpt
The attainment of 65 years or more of living carries with
it all the positive attributes (such as apparent resistance to early
mortality) and negative consequences (including the effects of a
lifetime of environmental exposures and health insults) of being
an older adult. However, the quality and quantity of life from age
65 years onward remains very responsive to the impact of lifestyle
factors, particularly the type of dietary and physical activity
patterns maintained. In fact, with the onslaught of age-related
decrements in physiological function and the concomitant onset of
the chronic diseases of aging, it could be argued that this period
in the life cycle offers one of the most important opportunities
for lifestyle interventions to make a difference in health-related
quality of life (Wellman 2007). This chapter provides
a detailed discussion of the complex interactions of diet and physical
activity with mental health and treatments for mental health disorders.
In addition, the last section of this chapter provides a thorough
discussion of assessment techniques and clinical guidelines for
both nutrition and physical activity in the elderly.