Nutrition
Simulation No. 1 - Nutrition - BANANA BONANZA
Nutrition and healthy eating contribute to maintaining bodily structure and processes. It provides us with energy, cognitive abilities and can protects us from disease and illness.(1) As we age, we begin to change in a way we buy, prepare, and eat food to maintain a healthy diet. Limitations in one’s ability to eat or prepare food can lead to poor health.
In this simulation, you will experience how difficulties in handling food might change our willingness to eat healthily or to eat at all. The goal is to increase your understanding on how simple everyday tasks, such as eating or preparing food, can become seemingly impossible for older adults, and this can have cascading negative health consequences. Here, you will experience difficulties in cutting, using utensils, and manoeuvring food on the plate, if you were affected by osteoarthritis which causes pain and stiffness.
Please note that cutting foods into smaller pieces helps better chewing before swallowing and prevents choking.
Simulation Video
Duration of simulation - 5-10 minutes.
Full Simulation Guide
Materials
- 1 plate
- 1 fork
- 1 butter knife. To increase difficulty, use larger utensils such as a butcher knife or a serving fork
- 1 banana (unpeeled)
Procedure
- Complete the precursor stations if you have not already done so.
- Set up a spot at a table with a plate, fork, knife, and an unpeeled banana on the plate.
- Take the knife with your non-dominant hand.
- Cut the banana into equal 1-inch pieces using the fork and knife.
- Peel the skin off the banana using the fork and knife.
- Attempt to eat the banana pieces using the fork.
Reflection Questions
- Would you feel more OR less inclined to eat healthy or prepare food if you had to deal with the struggles you experienced in this simulation?
- At what point during the simulation did you consider giving up or not wanting to eat banana? How would giving up impact your nutrition over time?
- Although in this simulation we used utensils, many cultures eat with their hands. Would elderly persons of different cultural backgrounds experience more, less or same barriers in good nutrition as they age?
Testimonials
Simulation No. 02 - Nutrition - RICE AND SEEK
Nutrition and healthy eating contribute to maintaining bodily structure and processes. It provides us with energy, cognitive abilities and can protects us from disease and illness.(1) As we age, we begin to change in a way we buy, prepare and eat food to maintain a healthy diet. Limitations in one’s ability to eat or prepare food can lead to poor health.
This simulation will help you understand the difficulties of adhering to food restrictions due to intolerances or allergies that accompany aging. For example, a person with vision problems might have difficulty distinguish between vegetables in a salad that they cannot eat and must remove because of food allergies. Using a mix of flour and rice, that makes it difficult to distinguish between the two substances, you will experience how an older adult may have trouble assuring proper nutrition.
To enhance the difficulty, you may complete this simulation in a dimly lit room.
Simulation Video
Duration of simulation - 5-10 minutes.
Full Simulation Guide
Materials
- 1 plate
- 1 spoon
- 1/3 cup of flour
- 1 tsp of rice
Procedure
- Complete the precursor simulations if you have not already done so.
- Set up a spot at a table with 1 plate and 1 spoon.
- On the plate, create a mixture of ⅓ cup flour and a 1 tsp of rice.
- Use your non-dominant hand for the remainder of this simulation.
- Use the spoon to separate the rice from the flour on the plate. Keeping in mind how this situation may impact an older individual, and why older adults might be less inclined to eat in presence of others out of embarrassment or frustration.
- Once you feel that you have either picked out the majority of pieces or have become too frustrated to continue, stop the simulation and allow a moment to see how well you did.
Reflection Questions
- Before this simulation, what was your perception on how age-related changes can impact nutrition for older adults? How did your mindset change after the simulation?
- How would eating difficulties affect your ability to eat in public or a social setting?
- How could you support an older adult who has difficulty preparing food or eating?
