Nutrition Professor On How “Food Nostalgia” Can Encourage Seniors at Mealtime | Newswise
Newswise — Melinda Boyd is an assistant professor of nutrition and public health at Cedar Crest College in Allentown, PA, who studies, speaks and teaches about adapting the concept of nostalgia used in eldercare more specifically to “food nostalgia” to encourage senior citizens to eat better and to promote healthy nutrition.
“In recent years, research in many fields has shown that connecting seniors with a past period in their lives in a positive way can play a helpful role in healthy aging and eldercare,” she says. “It is a helpful approach for those who work in long-term senior care to consider, and I’m hoping that my own research will be helpful in promoting this concept.”
Professor Boyd, an excellent quotable source on the benefits of healthy eating among elderly Americans, emphasizes that nutrition is important across the human lifespan–but especially as we age. “However, it is not uncommon for anyone caring for an older parent or for a patient in a senior-care setting, to encounter challenges, even tension around mealtimes,” she notes, “and concerns about not eating, about lack of appetite or weight loss, are often part of the conversation.”
Asking a senior to describe what they consider to be an example of a “comfort food” can be a good start, according to Boyd. “Perhaps they’ll mention some of the foods they ate when growing up or that had some family significance,” she says. “Often, they will share a memory or offer a reflection on a food tied to their own culture.”
It is a helpful concept for those who work in long-term senior care to consider. “If we can make menus that accommodate the memories and culture of patients, we might actually find that they are more responsive to food options and less likely to struggle at mealtime,” Boyd explains.
“I’m hoping to inspire dietitians who work in end-of-life care or in long-term care that if we can make menus that accommodate the culture of patients, we might actually find that they are more responsive to food intake,” she says, “and less likely for them to face a struggle at mealtime.”
