Exercise 1Watch the “60 Minutes” TV clip about the “Oldest Old”, and how they are living well to 100 and beyond:
(It’s the one we saw last week)
The transcript is here if you want to read it instead:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/living-to-90-and-beyond/
As we have noted last week, and as the video above further delineates, there are some key strategies to living to this age well. Not everyone can, due to various predisposing factors, but if you get to 90+, there are very simple lifestyle tools that work, mostly based on diet and exercise.
Look at how some of the foods people eat may be harder to get or prepare as you get old, and how people’s tastes change. How do you, as a healthcare provider, assist the “oldest old” to eat right and exercise if they are not keen to do it?
Some help here:
http://www.aplaceformom.com/blog/01-23-2013-loss-of-appetite-in-elderly/
https://www.ncoa.org/economic-security/benefits/food-and-nutrition/senior-nutrition/
You are a geriatric nutritionist. You have been given a patient to help who likes to eat steak, but can’t chew it anymore. He doesn’t like vegetables- any vegetables, except potatoes, and maybe green beans occasionally. He says pork tastes greasy and chicken is bland, and most seafood turns him off except fried shrimp. He likes some fruit “except all those melon things”. He likes a good beer, and maybe some wine, a couple of times/week. Lately, he just thinks cooking and eating anything is just too hard and tastes lousy. He just drinks coffee in the morning and has crackers and cheese in the afternoons. He is losing energy and becoming tired all the time.
Patient profile: 90y/o male, lives alone, but has help come in to assist him from 8AM-3PM every day. Family helps him as well.
70″ tall, 185lbs, BP 130/85, Total Cholesterol 140, HDL 70 managed by Lipitor 80mg once daily, He also takes 81mg aspirin.
He has history of coronary artery disease with PCI w/stent placement 20 years ago, asymptomatic since. No other significant Hx.
Help the patient’s family find some meals he can eat at home/make with assistance that are healthy and that he will eat. Come up with a meal plan for him for 1 week. Upload your plan here:
Exercise 2
Living Well: Starting Now
What can you do to maximize your chances of aging well? How about your patients/clients? More info here:
https://www.prevention.com/health/real-age-how-long-will-i-live
Keeping it Going
How will you live when you are old? Have you thought about that?
Where do you want to live? How do you want to live?
Are you “Self-Actualized”? Do you see yourself as being able to accomplish all you want in life?
What will you do each day? Do you have a plan for retirement income?
If you get sick/injured, do you have a plan for that?
Think about these things and how you intend to reach these goals. Come up with a graphic that summarizes your life at 80 and beyond.
