Nutritional care considerations of older Americans.

The US Census Bureau's 1977 projection of the nation's population aged 65 and older by the year 2000 was 31.8 million. This paper addresses the projection that in the future a higher proportion of the population in the United States will be older persons. It is obvious that older Americans are living longer with an increased incidence of diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiac problems, and obesity, requiring medical and nutritional care. This paper discusses commitment to provide quality services in terms of prescribing appropriate and functional therapeutic diets to meet the needs of older Americans. Two mechanisms are discussed that are effective tools for calculating diabetic diet prescriptions and weight reduction diets based on energy level and energy needs. Also discussed are the provision of assistance to meet the social support needs of old people such as food stamps, Meals-on-Wheels, and homemaker's service.