Elderly nutrition: The essential role of collagen in healthy aging

This growing population of older adults has different dietary and nutritional needs compared to younger people. This difference is the fundamental reason why healthy aging has become such a significant focus within the food and nutrition space.

The human population is getting older

This trend has been ongoing for decades and will continue to do so, if current projections hold.

Between 1970 and 2019, the global median age increased from 21.5 to over 30 years.¹

In countries like Spain, Switzerland, Italy and Australia, life expectancy now averages 83 years. In Japan, the number is a quite staggering 85 years.²

While significant differences between the developed and developing world remain, global life expectancy stood at 72.6 years in 2019³. In 1950, it was 47.⁴

Two major factors are at play:

• People are living longer thanks to medical, lifestyle and nutritional advances.

• Shifts in gender roles, family structures and environmental concerns have meant lower birth rates.

 
By 2050, when the global population is expected to rise from 7.9 billion today to 9.7billion, one in six people will be aged 60-plus.⁵

Yet the same number of babies will be born that year as now—140 million.⁶

These seismic demographic shifts are impacting the way societies form and function, from the organization of labor to retirement ages and pension funding, to the structure and interactions of families; and to the way people eat and understand nutrition.

The US-based Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics estimates 70% of the physiological deterioration experienced by the elderly is linked to physical inactivity, lifestyle choices like drug and alcohol consumption and poor nutrition.⁷

Nutrition and older adults

Older people don’t just want to live longer; they want to live longer and healthier and they are increasingly aware that the right diet and nutrition are vital to achieving that goal.

Complicating the picture is the fact the elderly are not just ‘the elderly’—one size does not fit all. It’s an increasingly broad range of people with diverse needs, from those who are typically still active in their 60s and 70s to those in their 80s or 90s, where things can become a little more fragile.

As Rousselot global business development manager, Florencia Moreno Torres, explained in a recent presentation, elderly nutrition “is a very wide segment. Someone in their 60s has completely different aims, ambitions, goals and capabilities than someone in their 90s.” 

“As we are living longer, the way in which we are perceiving aging is changing.”

Modern food, supplement and nutrition firms are responding to this larger, broader group by tailoring dietary solutions to the different needs of older adults.

Elderly health issues

 
While the needs of older adults are many and varied, there are some commonalities when it comes to the aging process.

Physical challenges faced by older people include:

• Bone, joint and skin decline
• Higher risk of fractures
• Muscle wasting (sarcopenia)
• Compromised agility/mobility
• Decline in strength, tone, flexibility and balance
• Increased rates of arthritic forms (around 65% of adults aged 50+ have osteoporosis or osteopenia, according to Nutrition Australia)⁸
• Less lean body mass
• Lower metabolism
• Neurological decline
• Increased disability rates
• Decreased taste perception (often provoked by medication)
• Appetite loss
• Swallowing or chewing issues (dysphagia)
• Increased risk of malnutrition
• Slower recovery from illness 

Dietary requirements also shift as the years advance, including:

• Lower energy needs
• Increased protein needs. The common recommended daily allowance (RDA) of 0.8g/kg body weight/day is well below the 1.2-2g/kg/day often recommended by nutrition experts for older adults. Yet, a third or more of elderly Americans don’t even achieve the lower RDA
• Increased calcium needs, especially for women 
   

Healthy aging nutrition

With a list this long, the challenges of aging are apparent, but so is the ability of smart nutrition to provide independence and promote physically and socially active health during the aging process.

Nutrients like calcium, vitamin D, omega-3s and collagen can play important roles in reducing and mitigating the impact of these physiological shifts, thereby boosting the quality of life for over-60. 

Advances in nutrition science are solidifying the links between these nutritional interventions and many health challenges faced by older adults.

Coupled with this, evolved food technologies mean a better and wider array of consumption options are available, ranging from pills to gummies to innovative age-adapted functional foods and drink matrices like jellies, bars and ready-to-drink (RTD) formulations.

Such products offer science-backed efficacy across a range of elderly health concerns. 

Collagen healthy aging benefits

Collagen forms like Peptan^® peptides and ProTake^® hydrolyzed collagen are finding more and more avenues to aid elderly food and nutrition solutions. Across demographics, food and drink products making collagen claims surged 70% between 2015 and 2020, according to Mintel’s Global New Products Database.

These natural protein sources are backed by an ever-expanding research base in areas like sarcopenia, bone and joint health, skin health, mobility and more.

Lab advances mean collagen is playing an important role in the ever-present elderly nutrition need to raise protein intakes and help reduce collagen loss, in formulations that permit increased collagen content while reducing fat and sugar.

Sustainably sourced porcine, fish, beef-sourced pure collagen powder also possesses the advantage of being practically taste and odor neutral, making it inherently adaptable to a broad range of applications and taste and texture targets.

This means older adult foods that might, for example, seek to intensify flavor profiles to suit older palettes or develop easier-to-swallow/chew foods can easily incorporate collagen’s efficacious protein advantages.

Examples include flavorful chocolate drinks with 200% more protein than standard on-market versions and soups with almost 500% more protein than regular products.

Offerings like these are making it easier for older adults to improve their nutrition and, more importantly, their quality of life at a time when nutrition can have such a huge impact.

Register to watch on-demand webinar on elderly nutrition and discover how the exceptional sensory and functional properties of Rousselot's collagen solutions make them ideal for the elderly nutrition market. 

Disclaimer:

Rousselot makes no representation or warranty, whether expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of the information, nor does it assume any legal liability, whether direct or indirect, for any information. Use of this information shall be at your discretion and risk. Nothing herein relieves you from carrying out your own suitability determinations and tests and from your obligation to comply with all applicable laws and regulations and to observe all third-party rights. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.