The Elderly Nutrition Education Coordinating Group
is pleased to have sponsored the symposium:

“Aging Challenges: Closing the Nutrition Gap”
during the 32nd Annual Meeting of the Society for Nutrition Education

Nutrition plays a vital role in helping older adults remain healthy and independent in their communities. The Elderly Nutrition Education Coordinating Group (ENE Group) has worked together for a number of years to promote the importance of nutrition education for older adults.  The symposium highlighted a broad array of nutrition related information, education, and programmatic strategies that addressed the nutritional needs of older adults and how they can be met.

The symposium, moderated by ENE group representatives, Dr. Mary Clarke and Dr. Jacquelyn W. McClelland was divided into two parts: (1) the nutritional needs of older adults and (2) the array of strategies used to meet these needs. The symposium consisted of a panel presentation, oral presentations, and tabletop displays of current research and programs of researchers and educators from across the country. Abstracts and project descriptions submitted for the symposium and from which author-permission has been received are posted on this website.

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THE PROGRAM

Part 1 – Aging Challenges: Targeting a Nutrition Response:

This panel presentation documented the nutrition needs of older adults and began the search for innovative and collaborative solutions.

• Serving Older Adults at Nutritional Risk

Jean Lloyd, U.S. Administration on Aging discussed the purpose of the Older Americans Act and its Elderly Nutrition Program including the population served, the array of nutrition services currently available including nutrition screening, an assessment of these services, and the unmet needs.

• Using Research and Information

Nadine Sahyoun, USDA/Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion characterized the elderly population and described examples of current research including healthy weight for older adults, trends in food intake as compared to the food guide pyramid, and food security.

• Expanding Local Community Collaboration

Dian Weddle, National Policy and Resource Center on Nutrition and Aging discussed how linkages between the elderly nutrition programs and Cooperative Extension networks can improve the nutritional status of older adults and result in positive programmatic outcomes and accountability.

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Part 2 – Aging Challenges: Meeting Nutrition Needs

A variety of research projects and programs to meet the nutrition needs of older adults was presented as brief oral presentations and tabletop displays.

Research Projects
Oral Presentations:

• Relationships Between Body Measurements and Body Image in Exercising and Non-exercising Older Women. Carolyn Alish, Mary C. Mitchell, and Kristin Ward, Department of Human Nutrition and Food Management, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.
• The Ability of DETERMINE Your Nutritional Health Checklist to Identify at-risk Nutritional Status in White, Rural, Independently-Dwelling Elderly Women. Ardith R. Brunt, Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, TN 38505; Elisabeth Schafer and Mary Jane Oakland, Iowa State University, Ames IA.
• Nutrition Parameters Predictive of Functional Decline in the Older Adult. Adele Huls, Linda Phillips, Timothy Lohman, University of Arizona.
• Understanding Targeting in the Elderly Nutrition Program: A Focus of Food Insecurity. Jung Sun Lee and Edward A. Frongillo, Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
• The Impact of Food Stamp Reforms on Elderly in Mississippi.  Sheri L. Lokken and Kristin J. Hope, School of Human Sciences, Mississippi State University, MS.
• Changing Appalachian Foodways: Perceived Changes and Rationale for Food Habits of Appalachian Ohioans. Cindy S. Oliveri and Deanna L.Tribe,   Ohio State University Extension, Jackson, OH.
• Analysis of the Efficacy of the Game Pyramid Power as a Nutrition Teaching Tool for the Senior Population (50+years). Amy Peterson, East Carolina University, Morrisville, NC.
• Healthy Eating Index and Dietary Variety Scores in a Biracial Population of Older Persons.  Christy C. Tangney, DA Evans, JL Bienias, MC Morris.  Rush Institute for Healthy Aging, Rush Presbyterian St. Lukes Medical Center, Chicago, IL.

Programs
Oral Presentations:

• NAPIS Automation Project. Elsa Ramirez Brisson, County of Monterey, Area Agency on Aging, Salinas, CA.
• An Innovative Nutrition Education Program for Older Adults. Katherine Cason, Clemson University, Clemson, SC.
• Nutrition for Seniors. Kay Dutram, Muskie School for Public Service, University of Southern Maine, ME.

Tabletop Displays and Information Sharing:

• Nutrition and Food Safety Education and Training for the State of Florida Nutrition Program for Elders. Linda B. Bobroff, Department of Family, Youth,  and Community Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
• HELP, A Nutrition Education Resource for The Aging. Mary L. Meck Higgins and Mary Clarke, Department of Human Nutrition, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS.
• Senior Series and Staying Well: A Public-Private Venture Helps Older Adults Eat Right. Alma Saddam, Department of Human Nutrition and Food Management and Ohio State University Extension, OSU, Columbus, OH.
• Partners in Wellness: A Pilot Program Using A Holistic Approach To Improve the Nutritional Status of Older Adults at Congregate Nutrition Sites. Jacquelyn W. McClelland, Angela Fraser, Luci Bearon, Susan Velazquez, Barbara Garland and R. David Mustian, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC.
• The Use of Interactive Compressed Video for Nutrition Counseling of Rural Elderly Through The Arkansas Rural Hospital Network. Beverly J. McCabe, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, and Callie A. Shull, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Little Rock, AR.
• Successful Video Conference Satellite Program: Providing Nutritional Information on Dementia for Rural Care Givers. Lynn Paul, Montana State University Extension,  and Marnie Cranston, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT.
• Tailoring Nutritional Education to Older Adults. Janice Park, Janice Hermannand Glenna Williams, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK.

This web page is part of the NPRCNA project: Aging, Nutrition and Extension: An Integrated Network For Rural America. The purpose of this Fund for Rural America project is to coordinate existing aging, nutrition and Extension networks to help improve the nutritional wellbeing, quality of life, health and independence of rural older adults. This project is supported in part, by a grant, number 97-36200-5256, from the United States Department of Agriculture, Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, Washington, DC 20250-2245.

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