Diet and Diseases of Aging

The global increase in longevity over the past 50 years has been attributed partly to an improvement in nutrition in both childhood and later life. A century ago, 1 in 20 people worldwide was more than 65 years of age, whereas today it is 1 in 6, and by 2051 it is expected to be 1 in 4. The estimation that by 2025 there will be 1.2 billion older people, with about 840 million of these in low-income countries and a majority of them being women, has enormous implications, including increasing health care costs and costs for lifelong prevention interventions. For most, the quality of life, including diet and nutrition, of older people is now probably better than ever before. Nevertheless, older people often have ...