Senior Honors Project: Nutrition Education for the Geriatric Population

Background: Wellness Wednesday is a grant program the University of Akron School of Nutrition and Dietetics participates in during the school year. The Wellness Wednesday program focuses on older adult education within the AMHA housing community. Each month, students from the University of Akron rotate through three locations teaching a lesson to residents within each facility. Departments involved include psychology, exercise science and nutrition and dietetics. Purpose: The purpose of this project was to define goals and objectives for nutrition education for the Wellness Wednesday grant program, determine the residents needs for nutrition education and determine food accessibility of the residents. Methodology: 40 residents were assessed using a health risk assessment questionnaire during a Wellness Wednesday event. The nutrition component included: height, weight and dietary intake using a food frequency questionnaire. Residents were asked about their yearly income, and ability to go to the grocery store to buy foods. Health risk was determined by the presence of nutrition related medical conditions. Findings: All participants reported a chronic health condition that has the potential to affect nutrition status. Greater than 50% of residents reported having an income less than 10,000 dollars per year. Based on findings, the future goals of nutrition education are to help residents understand basic nutrition concepts, nutrition implications of their chronic health problems, and help residents gain access to healthy foods