Carolyn Ross is one of the authors of the nostalgia and comfort food study, as well as director of the Sensory Science Center at Washington State University. She says the study indicates that nostalgia can not only increase enjoyment but also encourage a senior to eat more of a certain food.
“There were also indications that the individual’s mood was affected by the food,” she says.
However, Ross cautions that nostalgia does not only include positive memories. Brands appealing to older adults should be aware that nostalgia can include negative memories, too.
“Both nostalgia and comfort are person-specific,” she says, encouraging caregivers to get to know an older person and what foods may trigger happy memories for them.
In the study, participants often associated nostalgia with a specific person, such as their mother or grandmother, and a particular food, which ran from anything to barbecue to pastries.
“That said, someone’s grandmother or mother creates a highly specific experience for them that can be very difficult to re-create,” says Ross. “For comfort, we saw more agreement around what feelings a comfort food elicits (warmth, happiness) and agreement around what comfort foods are (ice cream).”
Yet, she believes that if society wants older people to be happy and healthy, they must eat nutritious meals.
“If nostalgia can be used to promote those feelings and actions (for a nutritious food), I think it’s something to explore,” says Ross.
Ageing as a global public health concern
There are more senior citizens on earth now than ever, and that population will continue to grow. Presently, more than 76 million Baby Boomers are alive in the US. According to the 2020 Census, the US population age 65 and older ballooned nearly five times faster than the total population in the century since 1920. In 2020, the peer-reviewed journal Maturitus published an article about the World Health Organization’s approach to promoting healthy aging around the globe. Its author wrote, “The aging of the global population is the most important medical and social demographic problem worldwide.”
As society develops systems of care for older people, manufacturers across industries are figuring out how to accommodate seniors and their caregivers as consumers.
Adults ages 60 and older are more likely to have diseases and chronic conditions due to the natural risks of aging and lifestyle factors. The National Council on Aging reported that nearly 95% of Americans age 60-plus have at least one chronic condition. Hypertension, for example, affects 60% of this demographic.
Some of these conditions may require special diets or even medical foods that require the supervision of a physician. Medical foods differ from foods catering to special dietary needs because they have been formulated for nutritional needs tied to particular diseases and conditions. In 2023, the FDA updated its guide titled “Guidance for Industry: Frequently Asked Questions About Medical Foods,” first released in 2007, to address common queries as the segment of older adults grows.
USDA MyPlate offers tips for older adults across the board, including they should eat sufficient protein to maintain muscle mass. Another is that a sense of thirst commonly declines among this group, so they should be careful about staying hydrated.
