Eating for older people should take into account how people’s experiences and lives change as they age. That is, including conditions such as taste, diet and food choice. This primarily occurs when most people approach age 70 or older. Influencing variables can include: social and cultural environment; gender; personal habits; as well as physical and mental health. Scientific studies explain why people like or dislike certain foods. There is a lot of work and scientific research that goes into studying the variables that cause older people to change their diets. An example of such studies would be an experiment conducted by the Senior Nutrition Programme. To improve the quality of meal programmes, the European Neighbourhood Policy explored how food preferences differed by biological sex and ethnic group. A total of 2,024 ENP participants aged 60 or older were interviewed. The majority of participants were female, or served through group meal programmes, or meals served in community settings such as senior centres, churches or senior living communities. The overall impression of the meals was assessed for the top 13 food groups. After adjusting for other variables, older men had a greater preference for deli meats, meats, legumes, canned fruits, and ethnic foods than did women. Additionally, compared to African Americans, “Caucasians showed a higher preference for 9 of 13 food groups including pasta, meat, and fresh fruit. To improve the quality of the ENP and to increase older adults’ adherence to nutritional programs, food services require a strategic meal plan that seeks out and integrates the best foods for older adults.” There are multiple parts of an older person’s life that can influence their food preferences. Aspects such as environment, mental and physical health, and lifestyle choices all contribute to how a person decides what foods they like or dislike. An article on the effects of cognitive function in older adults states that “the nutritional status of older adults is related to their quality of life, ability to live independently, and risk of developing costly chronic diseases.” Well-being can be influenced by multiple socio-environmental factors, including access to healthy and affordable foods, food outlet locations, and nutritious restaurant choices. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the American Dietetic Association, and the Society for Nutrition Education have identified older adults’ access to a balanced diet as critical to preventing disease and promoting nutritional wellness so that quality of life and independence can be maintained throughout the aging process and excessive health care costs can be reduced. An individual’s environment and health can influence the foods they choose and prefer to eat. As people age, their bodies change. This includes their taste buds, their needs for certain vitamins and nutrients, and their desire for a variety of foods. In a study by the Monell Chemical Senses Center, five hundred young men and forty older adults participated. The young adults ranged in age from eighteen to thirty-five, and the older adults were sixty-five or older. There were more females than males in the study, but there were roughly equal proportions of males and females in both age groups. The study noted that younger women had stronger cravings for sweets than older women. They linked this difference in preference to the younger female test subjects’ shorter menstrual cycles and the fact that older women are no longer going through menopause. The study also determined that “ninety-one percent of cravings associated with a cycle occur in the second half of the cycle.” These physical changes could explain why someone who is older may not be getting the nutrition they need. As taste buds change with age, some foods may not be perceived as appetizing. For example, one study by Phyllis B. Grzegorszyk, Ph.D., suggests that as we age, our sense of taste for salty foods slowly disappears. When older adults in nursing homes eat frozen meals that are high in salt, they don’t enjoy them. This can lead to depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts. Not only are there differences in food preferences between ages, but also in biological sex. In a study conducted by the Nutrition Program in the Elderly, researchers explored male and female subjects’ preferences for 13 individual food groups. From this study, it was clear that older men “were more likely to prefer deli meats, meats, legumes, canned fruits, and ethnic foods than were females.” Another study conducted by the Monell Chemical Sensitivity Center concluded that females had a greater desire for sweets and chocolate than males. The results of the study confirmed that males had greater cravings or preferences for appetizers than for sweets. As people age, some people tend to avoid food and are unwilling to modify their diet due to oral health problems. Oral health problems, such as ill-fitting dentures or gum disease, are associated with significant differences in dietary quality, a measure of diet quality using a total of eight recommendations for food and nutrient consumption. From the National Academy of Sciences. Approaches to reducing food avoidance and encouraging dietary changes are urgently needed for people with eating difficulties due to oral health conditions, such as their inability to chew or eat food properly, as their health is greatly improved and their food preferences are greatly limited. A decline in physical health can lead to a deterioration in diet due to difficulties in preparing and eating food as a result of conditions such as arthritis. At the 2010 Healthy and Safe Eating in Aging conference sponsored by the Institute of Medicine, Dr. Catherine Tucker noted that older adults are less active and have a lower metabolism with a reduced need to eat. They also tend to have existing diseases and/or take medications that interfere with nutrient absorption. With changing nutritional requirements, one study developed a modified food pyramid for adults over the age of 70. The impact of certain diseases can also affect the quality of food in older adults, especially those in nursing homes. Often, when some suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, they do not receive the necessary care, and a decline in mental health is seen. It is a proven fact that those who have relationships with others live longer. When a person falls victim to such a mentally limiting disease, they can die earlier than they would have if they had not had the disease. This can be changed with proper care and a general sense of well-being, but when a person does not have the right nutrition and food choices, they will fall victim to this. As a result of certain mental health conditions and/or diseases - such as Alzheimer's - a person's food preferences may be affected. With some diseases, people tend to develop specific preferences or aversions to different types of food. For example, people with Alzheimer's experience many large and small changes as a result of their symptoms. One change identified by Suszynski in "How Dementia Tampers With Taste Buds" is the taste of the dementia patient's brain, which contains taste receptors. Since they do not experience flavor as they once did, people with dementia often change their eating habits and take on entirely new food preferences. In this study, the researchers found that these dementia patients had problems identifying flavors and appeared to lose the ability to remember tastes. Thus, leading to the theory that dementia caused patients to lose their knowledge of flavors. This in turn could lead to changes in eating behaviors. Psychological conditions can affect eating habits in older adults. For example, prolonged widowhood can affect nutrition. Depression in older adults is also associated with a risk of poor nutrition. Older adults can make different lifestyle choices about healthy eating. Food choices are often the result of personal beliefs and preferences. Other research has found that adults, regardless of age, tend to increase their fruit and vegetable consumption after being diagnosed with breast, prostate, or colorectal cancer. The environment can greatly influence food preferences in older adults. Those 75 and older tend to have limited mobility due to health conditions and rely on others to shop for and prepare food. Homebound older adults tend to receive one meal a day from communities that provide group meals, or meals served in community settings such as senior centers, churches, or senior living communities. These meal programs are encouraged to provide this meal to seniors at least five times a week. Access to transportation may also be less important, especially in rural areas where public transportation is scarce. However, the Iowa study failed to find problems with food shopping among seniors in open rural towns and cities, as those who do not rely on their own transportation rely on family, friends, and senior services. A separate study found little difference in urban areas with seniors who do not own a car. Aside from transportation, the type and quality of food available can also shape food choices if a person lives in a so-called “food desert.” The type of social network can also influence individuals’ choices in older individuals as well. For example, someone with a larger social network and lower economic status is more likely to be well-nourished than someone with a smaller social network and higher economic status. This means that it is important for our younger aging population to maintain social networks so that they can live longer and have more active lifestyles, especially when it comes to food.