The major change in dietary recommendations for older adults is a decrease in the amount of calories needed. Nutritional needs for most vitamins and minerals remain about the same. To get an adequate amount of vitamins and minerals in fewer calories requires careful meal planning. Calories Energy needs decline progressively throughout adult life as physical activity decreases and as the body's metabolism slows down. Consuming more calories than the body actually uses can result in weight gain.
Excess weight increases risk of developing many health problems.
Some conditions associated with excess weight include high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, adult onset diabetes, and certain cancers. Calories come from fats, carbohydrate, protein and alcohol. There are nine calories per gram of fat, and four calories per gram of carbohydrate and protein. Alcohol contains seven calories per gram. This means that for equal weights, fats and alcohol have about twice the calories as carbohydrates and protein.