Chalé Angela, Unanski Amanda G, Liang Raymond Y
Department of Health and Nutrition Sciences, Montclair State University, Montclair, New Jersey 07043, USA.
J Nutr Gerontol Geriatr. 2012;31(1):1-15. doi: 10.1080/21551197.2011.623924.
In 2011, the earliest segment of the baby boom generation turned 65 years of age. This event marks the beginning of a new phase of growth of the older adult population in the United States and is in line with what is referred to worldwide as "population aging." By 2030, older adults will comprise 20% of the U.S. population. With the impending increase in the older adult population, the United States is unprepared to handle the accompanying social and economic impact of growing rates of age-related diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. These diseases have nutritional determinants and, as such, they signify the need for effective preventive nutrition initiatives to address population aging in the United States. Comparatively, the European Union (EU) is projected to reach an older adult population of 24% by 2030. In this special article we evaluate nutrition initiatives for older adults in the United States and also examine nutrition initiatives in the European Union in search of an ideal model. However, we found that available data for EU initiatives targeted at population aging were limited. We conclude by offering the proposal of a physician-based model that establishes the primary care physician as the initiator of nutrition screening, education, referrals, and follow-up for the older adult population in the United States as a long-term goal. Apropos of the immediate future, we consider barriers that underscore the establishment of a physician-based model and suggest objectives that are attainable. Although the data are limited for the European Union, this model may serve to guide management of chronic diseases with a nutritional component in economies similar to the United States worldwide.
2011年，婴儿潮一代中最早出生的一批人年满65岁。这一事件标志着美国老年人口增长进入新阶段，与全球范围内所谓的“人口老龄化”相符。到2030年，老年人将占美国人口的20%。随着老年人口即将增加，美国尚未做好准备应对糖尿病、高血压和心血管疾病等与年龄相关疾病发病率上升所带来的社会和经济影响。这些疾病有营养方面的决定因素，因此，它们表明需要采取有效的预防性营养举措来应对美国的人口老龄化问题。相比之下，预计到2030年欧盟老年人口将达到24%。在这篇专题文章中，我们评估了美国针对老年人的营养举措，还研究了欧盟的营养举措，以寻找理想模式。然而，我们发现针对欧盟人口老龄化的现有举措数据有限。我们最后提出一个以医生为基础的模式建议，将初级保健医生作为美国老年人口营养筛查、教育、转诊和随访的发起者作为长期目标。关于近期未来，我们考虑了强调建立以医生为基础模式的障碍，并提出了可实现的目标。尽管欧盟的数据有限，但该模式可能有助于指导全球范围内与美国经济类似的经济体中具有营养成分的慢性病管理。
