Nutrition for Older Adults: Vision and Nutrition
Importance of Nutrition
Good nutrition can help keep the body healthy. However, many factors such as changes in vision can get in the way of good nutrition.
Changes in Vision with Age
Vision tends to decline with age. This can make shopping and cooking more difficult.
Problems driving to the store and reading food labels may result in less grocery shopping.
Problems small print recipes, seeing oven flames, oven temperatures or timers may result in less cooking.
Tips if Vision is a Problem
- Use a magnifying glass to read recipes or use large print recipe books.
- Use care around flames when cooking.
- Use colored tape to mark oven dial temperatures.
- Assistive technology devises can help with shopping and cooking if vision declines.
Sources
Whitney, E.N. & Rolfes, S.R. (2015). Understanding Nutrition, 14th ed., Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, Belmont, CA.
Bernstein, M., & Munoz, N. (2016). Nutrition for the Older Adult, 2nd ed., Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Sudbury, MA.
Brown, J.E. (2014) Nutrition through the Life Cycle, 5th ed., Cengage Learning, Stamford, CT.
Extension Nutrition Specialist