Recent research conducted by the department of food science and human nutrition shows that elderly people have trouble reading nutritional information on food labels.

“The elderly just don’t have the understanding and knowledge to make decisions that can affect their health,” said Mary Jane Oakland, associate professor of food science and human nutrition who was in charge of the research project.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture collected the research for the Food Label Use Among Elderly Americans project from 1994 to 1996.

Until this research was done, there had been no national data on the eating habits of people over the age of 80, Oakland said.

Janet Wooden, research assistant for food science and human nutrition, has been working on this research since January 2000.

The main concern that came out of the study is that elders who have health problems need to watch their nutritional intake. Nutritional needs vary with different illnesses, Wooden said.

“People with more health problems have greater consequences if they are not taking care of themselves,” Oakland said.

Research has shown that elders prefer larger type, striking contrast between type and background and words to be capitalized as well as lowercase, Wooden said.

Doctors need to spend more time with patients to help them understand their health status and how to make good choices about their diet, Oakland said.

“We don’t put enough money in the education necessary for managing chronic illnesses,” she said.

Wooden said the elements on packaging nutrition labels are difficult for everyone to understand.

“It is important to understand that ingredients are listed in decreasing quantity,” she said.

Although Oakland said she presumes there will be no more research done on this topic, Wooden said she could foresee more research illustrating the role of nutrition for elders.

“The best outcome would be to develop and create better labels and educate the public to create a better understanding for people so they can read labels for their own health benefit,” Wooden said.