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Growing Ageing Population and European Policies
27-28Views:286Introduction to Social change due to aged population
Increased elderly population in Europe has many factors, it took decades what is happening now. Europe’s low fertility rate, Europe’s migration from developing to developed country, high life expectancy and immigration laws. The developmental strategies of G20 countries are significantly interlinked with the economic and population development policies. The recognition of ageing population is followed by the Japan’s ageing population process which is also mentioned in most of the Eu data on comparison for the ageing population strategies. It is a visible change that social and economic developments causes higher life expectancy and better health in Europe.
The average middle age is increasing, and it is predicted about 4.5 years by 2019 to 2050 it may reach 48.2 years as European middle age. In the most developed parts of the world, elderly population was discussed long ago, and serious steps were taken for global improvements for older people. As the life expectancy increases dependency increases that creates pressure to fulfil the needs of elderly for health, socially, and economically. Increasing number of elderly populations, is actual rise in social, cultural, and economic responsibilities for welfare systems, health care systems and individuals. More elderly people, more reliance needed number of old age homes, elderly rehabilitation centers and Palliative care centers are increased.Population ageing is not a sudden change in population, but it took decades to consider about the population phenomenon. The European social change has major cause of ageing population that may has dark impact to the future perspective. In current situation birth rate is low, mortality rate is also low and life expectancy is high which is creating a lot pressure on the economic growth and to run the economic cycle the labour force is insufficient, health care systems are updating each year since COVID pandemic and system failure was visible in many OECD countries as well in such condition there is a lot more pressure on the women to balance birth ratio at the same time women is considered as “Sandwich Generation” by some of the European researchers, women cares for the both younger and the older generation nowadays.
Such ageing population determinants push the policy makers to design such policies and laws to combat this situation to secure future generations. Some of the EU policies to promote Active ageing and solidarity between generations, Silver Economy project to provide elderly jobs to decrease dependency ratio and Healthy ageing programs are running but still there is long way to show up positive results if migration policies will not be softened at certain points to keep achieving sustainable development goals in Europe.
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Modern Guidelines for Nutrition in Old Age: The Role of Preventive Diets in the Prevention of Chronic Diseases
Views:49Increased life expectancy, coupled with declining fertility rates, is leading to a global demographic shift towards an ageing population. The number of older people (aged 60 and over) is expected to more than double by 2050 and more than triple by 2100. From an individual perspective, this is a positive development, but at the societal level it poses a number of challenges in terms of managing people's health, quality of life, and economic circumstances. Although life expectancy is increasing, for many people the quality of life is declining, which can have a negative impact on both health and social institutions. The nutritional needs of older people differ from those of younger people, mainly due to age-related physiological changes. Their calorie requirements may decrease due to slower metabolism and reduced physical activity, but their requirements for certain macro- and micronutrients may increase. With advancing age, the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer, metabolic and cardiovascular diseases increas, as does the risk of osteoporosis, cognitive decline, and disability. In order to maintain health in old age and prevent the development of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, it is important to reduce the intake of simple carbohydrates (to a maximum of 10% of total carbohydrate intake) and saturated fatty acids (to a maximum of 20–25 g per day), while ensuring adequate protein intake (1.0–1.2 g per kg of body weight) and consuming at least 400 g of fruit and vegetables per day. The salt intake of Hungarian seniors also significantly exceeds the recommended level (instead of 2 g per day, men over 65 consume 6.2 g and women consume 4.7 g), and fluid intake is insufficient, too (the recommended amount is 35 ml per kg of body weight). Among preventive strategies, nutrition is critical, yet it is currently underrepresented in the healthcare system and does not receive sufficient emphasis in care processes. A personalized healthy diet has significant benefits for older adults and can prevent, modify, or improve many age-related diseases and conditions. This review focuses on issues related to the nutrition and nutritional needs of older adults based on the latest guidelines. It also presents the most common complications resulting from poor nutrition and the possibilities for diet therapy.