Can we make Scotland a Good Food Nation for older people?
‘It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.’ Charles Dicken’s opener for A Tale of Two Cities, his novel about the French Revolution, might also be applied to the way we approach food in Scotland.
First, the worst. More than three quarters of adults aged 65 to 74 are overweight or living with obesity. Many older people are cutting back on food spending or even skipping meals due to financial pressures. One in ten is at risk of malnutrition. What’s going on?
Access to affordable and nutritious food is vital for a happy and healthy later life. Yet many older people don’t have such access. Lack of knowledge may be the easiest barrier to overcome – our Eat Well advice guide is a good starting point. Harder to address are low incomes, and loss of motivation, capability, or confidence for preparing healthy food because of, for example, a bereavement or long-term health condition.
When money is tight, and/or you are at low ebb, cheap pre-prepared supermarket foods might seem an easy option. The problem is that when your diet is high in ultra-processed foods, studies show that your health and wellbeing is likely to suffer. In the UK, ultra processed foods make up more than half the average adult’s diet.
Yet now might also be the ‘best of times’ - an opportunity to turn this around. Three years ago, the Scottish parliament called on the Scottish Government to develop a plan for a healthy, fair and sustainable national food system, from farm to plate. That Good Food Nation Plan is now being considered by the Scottish parliament, which has invited individuals and organisations to have their say. Local plans will follow the national one, and a Scottish Food Commission has been established as an independent watchdog.
Age Scotland has joined the Scottish Food Coalition to influence these developments for older people. Collectively, we want to ensure the Scottish Government backs Local Good Food Nation plans with sufficient resources. We want local plans to be developed and delivered in collaboration with communities. We want to ensure that the Scottish Food Commission speaks and listens to civil society. And we want to the right to food, and the right to a healthy environment, enshrined in Scots law.
We would encourage older people, and their groups and services, to respond directly to the Scottish parliament’s consultation. If you are running a community organisation that enables older adults to access healthy good food, how might the plan aid your efforts? If you work in the Social Care sector, how could the plan help you to meet the dietary needs of older adults you support? And if you are someone who wants a food environment in Scotland that supports healthy ageing what do you think needs to happen?
Read the Good Food Nation Plan and have your say (Consultation closes August 15)
