When agriculture was developed more than 10,000 years ago, seasonal crops became available and predictable, and human diets became relatively stabilized for the first time. While hunting and gathering was still important, people no longer had to worry about the large swings in the availability of food supplies. During the next several thousand years, the quality of food did not change much, and the human diet consisted of natural foods (Micozzi, 2006). This remained true until modern times.
Today, the typical American diet increasingly consists of more processed and contaminated foods than ever before in human history. The use of pesticides, the prevalence of industrial farming of both crops and livestock, the incorporation of genetically modified foods into mainstream foods, the availability of fast foods and super-sized food portions of nutrient-poor foods, as well as the overuse of antibiotics and hormones in meat, dairy, and poultry products have changed the landscape of food in much of the modern world. At the same time, Americans suffer from more degenerative lifestyle-related ailments (such as heart disease, some forms of cancer, diabetes, and stroke) than ever before. Obesity is at epidemic proportions for all age levels, including older adults. Many health-care providers are seeing what researchers have been saying for decades—how people eat and what they eat is strongly linked to how people feel and the diseases with which they struggle (Luck, 2005).
While healthy eating is essential in all stages of life, eating well is especially important in older adulthood. Recent studies have shown that one out of four older Americans suffer from poor nutrition (National Resource Center on Nutrition, Physical Activity & Aging, 2012). Advancements in medical research and technology and a growing awareness of the importance of healthy lifestyles have led to longer life expectancies than ever before in human history. Nutrition plays a vital role in enhancing the functional quality and well-being of older adults. Nutrition that is not only adequate but supports the healthy function of the major body systems is fundamental to health on all levels.