Nutritional Needs and Exercise Habits

Hope you arrived safely on your journey back. Am well and want to refute your remarks that all Americans are fat and lazy and that it doesn't matter where one is from or anything else and that we are all the same. Numerous studies have revealed that nutrition and exercise play a huge role in improving the quality of our day to day life and disease prevention from childhood to old age. Nutritional needs and exercise habits differ among various segments of the society. For instance, older people need less vigorous exercise but more calcium and iron for bone renewal while teenagers will need more proteins and carbohydrates. Studies have also revealed that the quality of our diet follows a socioeconomic incline. Good quality diets are linked to wealth while people of low social economic status have been linked to diets poor in nutrients. Fast foods high in calories are with us now than before thus more and more Americans are becoming obese. Obesity has been linked to a number of ailments such as gallstones, erectile dysfunction, cancer, heart attacks and infertility. Within different life stages of life, the food we take must be balanced with the output in terms of energy so as to retain a healthy weight, particularly if bodily activity is limited (Bassy & Harries, 1993). Good nutrition is more significant in the elderly. As we age, a number of the bodily and physiological changes that take place are noticeable. Usually the most noticeable changes are seen in the color of hair, texture of the skin and body form. As we grow old, a lot of body mass is lost via muscles i.e. skeletal and smooth muscle. The ability of old people to produce new protein tissue diminishes as well as slowing the immune system's reaction in forming antibodies. More often than not, the total body fat grows with age as a result of too much calories. Nevertheless, in later years, weight usually drops. Women usually lose bone mass at a faster rate after reaching menopause thus suffering the risk of osteoporosis. These changes have some bearing on requirements for nutrients for elderly people. For that reason, older people should choose diets full of nutrients, as well as foods rich in vitamins, proteins, and minerals for instance milk and dairy products, meat, fish, eggs, fruits and vegetables. For instance, more Vitamin D will be required to counter changes in the skin. Protein and iron requirements for the elderly should remain the same as younger men (Davies & Knutson, 1991)

In conclusion, there are several factors in our society that influences nutrition and exercise habits among the elderly. These include genetic factors, physical factors, emotional and mental factors and social factors. Genetic factors include insulin resistance leading to increase in hunger which might lead to obesity. Physical factors include physical inactivity/lack of exercise. This is aggravated by the US being a sedentary nation. Lack of exercise predisposes older people