Eating for Pleasure or Longevity: What's Most Important to You?

The numbers are troubling. In Canada and the United States, most older people consume unhealthy foods. Their diets are top-heavy with sugar-sweetened beverages, pastries, ultra-processed and salt-containing foods, and red meat high in saturated fats. At the same time, they under consume healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, fish, and healthy fats (e.g., olive oil)—often identified as part of a Mediterranean diet. The trendline is also upsetting—bad eating habits have become more common. 

Clearly, there is a disconnect between what millions of older people eat and what experts believe is a healthy diet conducive to increased longevity. However, it is not that healthcare professionals and the media are failing to inform older people about the dangers of their bad diets. It is just that these eating recommendations lack the urgency of other communicated threats to their well-being.

We bombard older people with warnings about not getting enough exercise, being vaccinated, having preventative health examinations, keeping mentally active, and improving their sleeping behaviors. Confronted with so many risks forecasting their demise, they stop listening. 

The consequences are not pretty.

Studies directly link older people's poor dietary behaviors to a higher incidence of poorer physical and mental health. The result is an increased risk of chronic diseases (cardiovascular, cancer, and diabetes) and cognitive decline and depression. Most stunningly, research finds that making dietary changes at age 60 could add about eight years to a person's lifespan. 

What Subgroups of Older People Eat Poorly 

A more complete understanding of why older people eat poorly comes from recognizing that specific subgroups are more at risk. They have lower incomes, less education, physical challenges, and are males or divorced. They are likelier to lack knowledge about good nutrition or have unfavorable attitudes about the importance of healthy diets. They may also have more difficulties accessing grocery stores to make higher quality food purchases, have limited cooking skills, or have less energy for food preparation. Overall, these older groups are less motivated or able to prepare healthier meals. 

Physiological factors may also be responsible. Because some older people suffer from taste or smell deficiencies, they may crave foods with more robust flavors, which often have higher sugar, salt, or fat content.  

Eating Food Is An Emotional Experience 

However, we must focus on less tangible influences to fully explain older people's poor diets. Eating is an emotional experience.

For many in late life, consuming food is not just about sustenance but also pleasure and enjoyment. Some foods make people feel happier and more fulfilled. Foods perceived as satisfying and delicious motivate them to get out of bed and spend time with like-minded friends and family. Even just anticipating an "unhealthy" meal may be cause for joy. These positive emotional responses can often be linked to lifelong habits and practices.

Change can be difficult.

Older people also want to relive the pleasing and loving eating experiences of their family childhood homes or their ritualistic food gatherings with longtime friends. They fondly remember dinners of steaks, pot roasts, pork chops, lasagna, and Sunday morning breakfasts with waffles, hot grilled cheese sandwiches, bacon, and eggs. There is a reason we speak of "comfort foods" evoking feelings of nostalgia or sentimentality. 

Developmental psychologists have another take on the emotional significance of food. Here is their reasoning;

As people age into their 60s and beyond, the prospects of dying and having limited time horizons become very real. When older people acknowledge the imminence of their mortality, this realization can substantially change how they conduct their lives. Perceiving a limited remaining time left in their lives, they strive to maximize the quality of their current lives. Known as the "positivity effect," older people favor actions and experiences that benefit them in the here and now rather than in some uncertain long-term future. 

This positivity effect can help explain older people's attitudes toward eating. Focused on their present well-being, they are motivated to consume what they perceive as highly pleasurable or enjoyable foods and live for the moment. They judge the long-term negative consequences of their eating behaviors as less critical and overblown and brush them aside. At this stage in their lives, they do not believe diet changes will significantly change their future health outcomes. 

Older people elevate the importance of food as a source of pleasure for another reason.

As they age into their later years, they are likely to confront a steady stream of stressful age-related losses and setbacks—deaths of loved ones, personal health challenges, and less vigorous bodies. Pleasurable events may seem to be in short supply. So, eating highly satisfying comfort foods—even though advertised as bad for their health—becomes essential for feeling good about life. 

Pleasure Versus Longevity:  Is This a False Dichotomy? 

Experts will at once argue that pitting pleasure and longevity against each other is an unnecessary and false storyline. They reason that the joys of eating do not have to come at the expense of poorer health outcomes and a shortened life span. They point to the many tasty and nutritious food choices of the earlier mentioned Mediterranean diet. This is a reasonable viewpoint, but most older people apparently disagree with their optimism. 

What is The Solution?

So, what actions can can older people take to make healthier food choices?  

A radical change in their eating habits would be the most aggressive response. However, to do this, older people must believe their overall quality of life will not suffer if they eat a plate of roasted eggplant cooked with pinenuts, olive oil, and garlic instead of that barbequed steak and ketchup-drenched french fries. They must feel convinced that by changing their eating behaviors, they will profit from better health and greater longevity. 

For older people pursuing this alternative, they need to recognize that "Replacing a bad habit with a good habit takes time and patience. It requires several steps, from setting your goals to getting support--from your family, friends, or doctor. One of the important steps is figuring out what your barriers are."  

A second response may be more doable.

This involves taking only incremental steps toward eating better. Older people selectively insert healthier items into their diets and only consume the "bad stuff" in moderation. This is not a perfect solution, but perhaps the most realistic. 

Unfortunately, most older people will probably opt for a third response. They will do little to change their eating behaviors. They rationalize that they only "live once," and compared to other assaults they face in old age, they will tolerate the possible health risks and shortened lives attributed to their poor diets.  

So which response is right for you?