Explore the urgent need for senior food in aging societies, focusing on dietary requirements and development challenges in China.

The Importance of Food for Human Survival

Food is the most important thing for the people. Since ancient times, food has been one of the basic conditions for human survival and health. People must consume a certain amount of food every day to maintain their life and health, to ensure the normal growth and development of the body and to engage in various activities. At the same time, people of different ages, living environments, and physiques have different food requirements. Due to changes in physiological characteristics and living environment of the elderly, their dietary structure will also change accordingly. This type of food that suits the living needs of the elderly is called senior food.

Aging Societies and the Need for Senior Food

According to the World Health Organization and internationally accepted standards, a population over 65 years old accounting for more than 7% is an “aging society”, a population exceeding 14% is an “aging society”, and a population exceeding 21% is a “super-aging society”. Relevant data shows that by the end of 2021, China’s population aged 65 and over was 200 million, accounting for 14.2% of the total population, marking China’s official transition from an “aging society” to an “aging society.” By the end of 2022, China’s population aged 65 and above was 210 million, accounting for 14.9% of the total population and growing rapidly. On the other hand, China’s average life expectancy has increased from 72 years for men and 75 years for women in 2009 to 74.7 years for men and 80.5 years for women in 2019, which means that there is an average life expectancy of 10-15 years after old age. During this period, due to the decline of body function and chewing and digestion function, the ability of food intake and digestion and absorption will be affected, which may easily lead to malnutrition, weight loss, bone density reduction, muscle function decline and other problems, leading to nutritional deficiencies and chronic diseases in the elderly. risk increases. Therefore, as the proportion of the elderly population, that is, the proportion of people aged 65 or above in the total population, increases, and the average life span increases, the development of food suitable for the elderly becomes increasingly urgent.

Current Status of Senior Food Development in China

In terms of the health status of the elderly, according to the “Report on Nutrition and Health of the Elderly in China”, the elderly in my country mainly have the twin problems of unbalanced dietary structure and overnutrition. Among them, the proportions of malnourished elderly people, overweight elderly people and obese elderly people were 48.4%, 31.8% and 11.4% respectively. As the elderly’s own physiological and organ functions gradually become impaired, if there is an imbalance in dietary intake, it is more likely to affect the health of the elderly. Therefore, the dietary pattern of the elderly should be extended in the direction of high protein, low fat, and low carbohydrate to ensure the nutritional and material needs of the elderly.

Challenges and Opportunities in Developing Senior Foods

However, China’s elderly food market is not yet mature, and the categories are relatively confusing and have a single structure. The scientific and technological content of the development content is also weak, and there is no specific taste design, raw material selection, nutritional fortification, production and processing based on the physiological characteristics of the elderly. ; At the same time, the elderly food industry still has problems with unscientific and non-standard management processes. Therefore, the development of elderly foods faces many challenges. At the same time, there is also huge room for development.

The Importance of Texture in Senior Food Design

Design direction of senior food texture improvement Food texture is an important indicator of food quality. For elderly people with reduced chewing and swallowing functions, improvement of food texture is very important. The texture design of senior food can refer to my country’s “National Food Safety Standard – General Principles of Senior Food” and the food and beverage texture classification levels formulated by IDDSI. For solid food, the hardness and chewing difficulty can be appropriately reduced. For liquid food, the flow speed should be slowed down to avoid choking, and at the same time, heterogeneous inclusion in the oral cavity, that is, solid-liquid separation, should be avoided. At the same time, it is necessary to avoid adding raw materials with too large particles to reduce the difficulty of chewing in the mouths of the elderly; avoid giving the elderly food that is too crispy to avoid rapid disintegration after entry to produce a large number of powdery particles, which may cause choking. On the one hand, food texture depends on ingredients such as edible gum (hydrophilic colloid), emulsifiers, and thickeners added to the food. At present, polysaccharides, proteins, fluid gels and their mixtures are often used as texture improvers; among them, polysaccharides as food.

Discover ETprotein’s Rice Protein

To support the dietary needs of our aging population, we highly recommend ETprotein’s rice protein as a sustainable, high-quality protein source. This plant-based protein aligns perfectly with the nutritional design for seniors, offering an easily digestible, allergen-free option to fortify senior foods. Its inclusion in the diet can help address the protein quality requirements essential for maintaining health and vitality in the elderly. Embrace ETprotein’s rice protein to enrich senior food formulations and contribute to the well-being of our aging society.

About ETprotein:

ETprotein, a reputable rice protein Chinese factory manufacturer and supplier, is renowned for producing, stocking, exporting, and delivering the highest quality organic bulk vegan protein and plant proteins. They include Organic rice protein, clear rice protein, pea protein, clear pea protein, pumpkin seed protein, sunflower seed protein, mung bean protein, etc. Our offerings, characterized by a neutral taste, non-GMO, allergen-free attributes, cater to a diverse range of industries. We serve nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, cosmeceutical, veterinary, as well as food and beverage finished product distributors, traders, and manufacturers across Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, Thailand, Japan, Korea, Brazil, and Chile, among others.

Our specialization includes exporting and delivering tailor-made protein powder and finished nutritional supplements. Our extensive product range covers sectors like Food and Beverage, Sports Nutrition, Weight Management, Dietary Supplements, Health and Wellness Products, and Infant Formula, ensuring comprehensive solutions to meet all your protein needs.

As a trusted company by leading global food and beverage brands and Fortune 500 companies, ETprotein reinforces China’s reputation in the global arena. For more information or to sample our products, please contact us and email sales(at)ETprotein.com today.