The Obesity Epidemic: How Does It Affect Seniors?

Posted on Thursday, March 15th, 2012 at 1:09 pm and filed under Caregiving, Healthy Living, Interactive Caregiving

Obesity, today, is a hot topic. In fact, due to the significant rise of obesity in children and the subsequent health issues it causes, health experts predict that today’s children may have shorter life spans than their parents. This projection has parents, the medical community and other health advocates promoting significant lifestyle changes and better eating habits for children in hopes they achieve brighter health statistics in their futures.

Another population suffering the effects of the obesity epidemic that is garnering widespread attention is America’s seniors. Many seniors battle weight issues, often thought of in terms of being too thin or malnourished. However, the growing population of seniors at risk of being overweight faces obesity-related serious health issues, as well, including risk of osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, loss of memory and an even higher risk of developing dementia in later years.

In short – proper eating habits should begin early in life and continue through the golden years. The problem is – no one is that perfect and today’s fast-paced, fast-food society makes it easy to deviate from healthy choices. However, no matter what age, practicing healthy nutritional habits can make a big impact on a person’s overall health.

Caregivers of seniors play an important role in ensuring seniors consume healthy, well-balanced diets. Simply interacting with seniors by helping them shop for nutritional items at the grocery store, choosing healthy snack alternatives, and planning menus that provide adequate nourishment without unnecessary calories are key. Preparing healthy meals together can foster better eating habits and provides an activity enjoyed by all. Dining with seniors whenever possible adds another opportunity to oversee healthy food choices. This also offers seniors a bit of socialization, making seniors feel less lonely and isolated than when dining alone. Companionship during meals stimulates appetites, paving the way for seniors and caregivers, alike, to eat proper amounts of nutrient-rich foods.

The benefits of good nutrition are many:

• Improved energy and feeling of wellness
• Strengthened immunity
• Sharpened mental focus
• Stronger bones and muscles
• Improved weight control, digestion and regularity
• Better cardiovascular health
• Reduced incidence of mood swings and depression, and so much more

 

Along with good nutrition, daily exercise helps combat obesity. A stroll through the neighborhood or a bike ride in the park promotes cardiovascular health benefits for seniors while burning calories. Encourage seniors to develop an exercise regimen with their physicians’ help that offers the best benefits specific to their physical abilities.

Caregiving provides a unique opportunity for caregivers of seniors to make a difference in more ways than one. Interacting with seniors – talking together, sharing meals, and participating in other activities — cultivates overall healthy lifestyles that are crucial to helping seniors live independently in their own homes for as long as possible.

References:

YMCA of the USA. The y recognizes national childhood obesity month. Retrieved on February 7, 2012 from http://www.ymca.net/news-releases/20100827-childhood-obesity-awareness.html.

Comfort Keepers. Senior nutrition: balanced nutrition leads to a healthier life. Retrieved on February 8, 2012 from http://interactivecaregiving.com/senior-nutrition.

Caring Right at Home. Seniors aren’t spared by today’s obesity epidemic. Retrieved on February 8, 2012 from http://www.caringnews.com/pub.59/issue.1641/article.6925/

Dryden, Jim. Washington University in St. Louis – Newsroom (2012). Diet-exercise combo best for obese seniors. Retrieved on February 8, 2012, from http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/22091.aspx.

Encouraging Independence in Seniors – Maintaining Quality of Life

Posted on Tuesday, August 30th, 2011 at 10:41 am and filed under Aging, Interactive Caregiving

As a caregiver, it is important to encourage independence in seniors, but also to interact with them in ways that provide the opportunity for them to maintain a better quality of life for themselves.  By participating in activities with your senior loved one, not only are you showing that you care – the acts you undertake together can help improve their overall health.  In fact, research indicates that keeping seniors physically, mentally, socially and emotionally engaged can help them retain better cognitive function, stay healthier and live independently longer.

As the seniors in our lives grow older, daily interaction is vital to their health and happiness.  However, when caring for a loved one, it is easy to get into the habit of doing things “for” them rather than “with” them.  Let’s face it – it can be more efficient to do everything yourself.  Seniors are seasoned pros at doing things for themselves, but, due to aging bodies or underlying health issues, aspects of everyday living sometimes become a bit challenging both mentally and physically.  Seniors may need your help, but doing everything for them is neither the answer nor does it cultivate a better quality of life that can be achieved by learning the art of Interactive Caregiving™.

Interactive Caregiving™ is not just a term defined by Comfort Keepers®, it is a specific, engaging way of life that its caregivers, known as Comfort Keepers,undertake when caring for people.  By definition, Interactive Caregiving™ promotes physical, mental, social and emotional wellbeing.  When put into action, this philosophy focuses on the person as a whole, helps seniors live the highest possible quality of life by keeping them happy and engaged, and fosters healthy independent living within their own homes. 

• Physical activity, which should always be approved by the senior’s physician, helps reduce the severity of illness, and makes seniors stronger and less likely to fall.  Dancing can reduce high blood pressure, strengthen bones and lower the risk of heart disease.  Dancing with friends also provides a social outlet that stimulates the mind and can reduce the effects of dementia.  Activities such as gardening and cleaning the house inspire positive self-esteem and higher qualities of life. 
• Socializing with family and friends, as well as attending parties or other events, makes seniors feel less isolated and promotes good memory retention.  The effects of being socially active are just as beneficial as physical activity in terms of self-esteem and achieving a higher quality of life, which is important to note for seniors who are unable to exercise.
• Mental stimulation, such as crossword puzzles or other brain games, keeps minds active and facilitates healthy mental and emotional function.  Mental wellbeing fosters a sharp mind and a positive outlook on life.
• Emotional wellbeing depends on several factors, such as feeling connected to family and friends, being involved in the community or taking on a hobby.  Emotional stability helps seniors be happy and optimistic, which can keep depression at bay. 

Encourage seniors to help with tasks they are able to perform, such as folding laundry and writing a grocery list.  Play a game or work on a puzzle, read the paper over a morning cup of coffee, and take a walk together after lunch.  Shopping together provides another form of exercise and the chance to do something together.  Planting flowers and other gardening activities are not only fun, but provide a sense of accomplishment when you both step back to enjoy the fruits of your labor. 

Encourage seniors to help with tasks they are able to perform, such as folding laundry and writing a grocery list.  Play a game or work on a puzzle, read the paper over a morning cup of coffee, and take a walk together after lunch.  Shopping together provides another form of exercise and the chance to do something together.  Planting flowers and other gardening activities are not only fun, but provide a sense of accomplishment when you both step back to enjoy the fruits of your labor. 

There are many more activities than these few that can improve the quality of life for seniors.  Use your imaginations and work together to plan fun things that will transform even the most mundane daily activities into special memories that last a lifetime.

Aging Gracefully: Changes in the Taste Buds & Sense of Smell

Posted on Thursday, August 25th, 2011 at 11:55 am and filed under Aging, Healthy Living, Interactive Caregiving

Taste buds…who ever really gives them a thought?  When you eat, you either like foods you are trying, or you do not.  Even though you learned in grade school what taste buds are, once you passed that test, you quite possibly have not considered them again as the reason why certain foods taste good or bad, sweet or sour, spicy or mild. 

The fact is, you are born with 9,000 taste buds, which work in tandem with your sense of smell, as your sense of taste relies primarily on odors.  Our sense of smell and taste change as we age.  Beginning around age 40-50, the number of taste buds decreases, and the rest begin to shrink, losing mass vital to their operation.  At age 60 and after, some people begin to lose the ability to distinguish between the taste of sweet, salty, sour and bitter foods.  Sense of smell does not begin to fade until after the age of 70; its loss exacerbates the loss of taste for those affected. Whether these changes are due to simple aging alone, or caused by disease, environmental factors or smoking throughout a person’s lifetime is up for debate.  However, the actual reason taste and smell declines with age may not be as important as the result can be for the elderly.

For many, losing the senses of taste and smell may mean diminished appetites. The aroma of a delicious meal is what causes one to long for a taste.   If food suddenly does not smell or taste as it once did, some seniors may not eat as much as they should.  They may lose interest in fruits, vegetables and other dishes that provide nourishment critical to maintaining good health.  Because saliva production also diminishes with age, some seniors experience dry mouth and may have difficulty swallowing.  For the elderly this can sometimes mean that eating becomes more of a chore than an enjoyment, again possibly leading to malnourishment. 

In addition, seniors who lose their sense of smell are at risk of failing to detect the scent of rancid milk and food, or poisonous gases.  However, Comfort Keepers® believes there are a few things seniors can do to overcome these obstacles.  For seniors who are losing sense of smell, install visual gas detection monitors that will alert them of any harmful gas present in their homes. Check the due dates on all food before consuming, and if a container does not list a due date, write the date of purchase on it with a permanent marker.  Additional spices and seasonings can be added to food to enhance flavor and marinating meat or poultry may help. 

Being proactive is critical.  If you live too far away to help, hire a Comfort Keeper® to aid your loved one in purchasing healthy food, cooking and even labeling packages to freeze for future meals.  Comfort Keepers also offer companionship during meals, help cleaning afterward and are always up for participating in a game night or simply sharing stories after dinner!

Losing sense of taste and smell may not be fun, but it does not mean that the good life is over.  You can prepare yourself, and your senior loved one, for these changes in advance.  Be prepared to accept change, adapt, and be aware of potential hazards.  By doing so, you can commit to aging gracefully…every step of the way.

For more tips and even a nutrition test to ensure your whole family is on a healthy track, visit www.interactivecaregiving.com, created by Comfort Keepers^® with the best interests of seniors, their families and caregivers in mind.

Comfort Keepers Launches New Interactive Caregiving Website

Posted on Friday, July 1st, 2011 at 1:54 pm and filed under Interactive Caregiving

Comfort Keepers invites you to visit our new Interactive Caregiving website and find out how Comfort Keepers’ unique approach to in-home care helps seniors remain safe, healthy and  physically & mentally active.  Interactive Caregiving focuses on four components of senior care:  Senior Mind, Senior Body, Senior Nutrition and Senior Safety.  Each of these four components is featured on our new website through text and video. 

Senior Mind focuses on engaging clients in order to keep their minds active and challenged.  Maintaining and even improving cognitive function can give a person’s life much more meaning. 

Senior Body focuses on encouraging physical activity to extend the independence of our clients as well as reducing the risk of falls and diseases.

Senior Nutrition focuses on the importance of nutrition in both physical & mental health as well as how seniors’ nutritional needs change as they age.   A nutrition quiz is available to help assess whether you or someone you know is at nutritional risk.

Senior Safety focuses on keeping seniors safe in their own homes.  Safety, when home alone, is crucial for our seniors.  A printable Home Audit form is available to help you assess the safety of a seniors’ home.

The resource center on the site offers you downloadable articles on a variety of topics important to seniors, as well as a Care Services Survey to help you determine whether it is time to consider homecare options for your loved one.  You also have the ability to locate your local Comfort Keepers office. 

Interactive Caregiving differentiates us from other non-medical in-home care companies and provides the basis for excellent care giving while allowing our seniors the sense of being active in the care they receive.  For further information contact us at Comfort Keepers.

Interactive Caregiving – Senior Mind

Posted on Friday, June 24th, 2011 at 10:16 am and filed under Interactive Caregiving