Changes in dietary intakes with age.

The aim of this study was to describe changes in dietary intakes with age in subjects aging normally within the Toulouse study. Daily caloric intakes were constant in both sexes and in the three age classes considered. Energy distributions among the meals were rather clearly modified in men: the contribution of breakfast and afternoon snacks increased while those of lunch and dinner decreased. Observations among women were less consistent but the contribution of dinner also decreased with age (from 33.3 to 30.7%). This decreased contribution from dinner was due to a change in its nutrient composition (fewer lipids and more carbohydrates) which change the nutrient constitution of the entire daily diet, and also from a change in structure (reduced contribution by the main dish and increased role of desserts). These results pose questions concerning the reasons behind this change (loss of appetite, more pronounced taste for sweets?) and requires additional study.

Nutrition and successful aging: a study of 520 elderly persons from the Toulouse and New-Mexico Aging Process Study.

Epidemiological studies of aging are usually confronted with the presence of numerous pathologies or environmental factors which make it difficult to identify the effects of aging individually. One way of reducing the variability among individuals is to use well defined criteria to select the study population. This is the choice that was made for the New Mexico and Toulouse Aging Process Studies, which were particularly turned towards successful aging. In this study we have sought to explain the diversity of states of health of the subjects of these two studies by means of an aging classification exploring the medical history, balance and walking, and the cognitive functions. This reveals that the poorer health of certain subjects (about 10% and 30% of the populations of Toulouse and Albuquerque respectively) is slightly associated with changes in eating behaviour relative to subjects who age successfully. We have, however observed a decrease in vitamin E intake in Toulouse associated with a reduction of lipids in the food. But the poorer state of health is predominantly explained by advancing age and the occurrence of pathological states. This study confirms that aging was generally successful in the two populations studied.