This is a topic that is relevant to all of you, if not now, it will be in years to come. And that’s because we are an ageing population. By 2051, nearly 25% of the population will be over 65 years and 5% will be over 85 years. There are many considerations as we age but one of the most important is lifestyle, particularly diet. As you become older, your diet needs are different to when you were younger because your body stops working as well as it once did. For example, it’s not as good at producing the hormones and enzymes that are required to absorb the nutrients from the food you eat. Consequently, you become more susceptible to nutritional deficiencies and the poor health outcomes that follow.

There is no debating that preventative health strategies (for example, a healthy diet and a healthy weight) that are adopted in early life have the greatest effect on preventing disease, but as discussed in this week's podcast, you’ll also improve your health, reduce your risk of disease, improve your quality of life and reduce your risk of dying early, through the adoption of healthy eating in later life (i.e. over the age of 65).

So, what parts of your diet do you need to focus on as you age? Join Dr Nick as he takes you on a deep dive into the science to find out. 

Relevant studies and resources can be found here:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0889855321005070

https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.nu.07.070187.000323?journalCode=nutr

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J052v01n02_05

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1747-0080.2007.00204.x

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4066461/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15640513/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4924200/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4399494/

https://synapse.koreamed.org/articles/1059788

For more help on your health and weight loss journey, check out the IWL award-winning program found here: https://intervalweightloss.com/

For advice on what to eat and how to eat throughout the day, check out this 1-minute video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru_YiyHTRPA

For resistance training circuits you can do in the comfort of your own home, check out these 30-minute workouts here:  https://youtu.be/n9qYzjLY9G4

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Dr Nick Fuller is a Leading Obesity Expert at the University  of Sydney and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, and the founder of the IWL program: https://www.sydney.edu.au/medicine-health/about/our-people/academic-staff/nick-fuller

He holds the following qualifications:

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Obesity Treatment - The University of Sydney

Bachelors Degree, Human Movement & Sports Science - University of Technology, Sydney

Masters Degree, Nutrition & Dietetics - The University of Sydney