How to get elders to eat more healthily

[jessicabd]

Hi. I am working on an illustrating a project that arose from a social research with adult children and their elderly parents.

One of my findings was that adult children care for elderly parents physical well-being hence try to get elderly parents to trust science and eat healthier. 

As I am trying to illustrate such findings, I was wondering

 

What kind of food swaps would be a good example?

What kind of Chinese foods would be examples of unhealthy food that elderly may like?

And what kind of foods would the contemporary Chinese generation of adults consider a healthy alternative?

 

Thanks for your help :)

 

 

[thelearninglearner]

All I can think of is something super fried and/spicy

 

Might be hard to come across in picture

[Jim]

Maybe substituting steamed fish for anything smoked or spicy. Less salt is obviously a common one, though the only  actual advice I recall hearing is using a bit more vinegar in things as it supposedly helps cut down on oiliness, though no idea if there's any science to that whatsoever.

[Takeshi]

This is a hard question, because in China it's usually the other way around. All the Chinese elders I know eat very healthily, and are the ones always convincing younger people to eat healthier.

[abcdefg]

20 hours ago, Takeshi said:

This is a hard question, because in China it's usually the other way around. All the Chinese elders I know eat very healthily, and are the ones always convincing younger people to eat healthier.

 

Agree. The Chinese elderly I know in China tend to rely less on processed, pre-packaged food than do their younger relatives. I see less elderly eating fast food. I see more elderly carefully selecting ingredients and cooking from scratch than their young relatives who might not have the time due to work demands.   

 

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What kind of food swaps would be a good example?

 

The elderly Chinese I know in China would be more likely to slowly cook a chicken and vegetable stew instead of ordering a box of fried chicken with sides from the local KFC delivery service or Mei Tuan 美团。They often are helping their adult children with child care and cooking for the whole family.

 

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One of my findings was that adult children care for elderly parents physical well-being hence try to get elderly parents to trust science and eat healthier.

 

Just wondering: Was your research done in China or among Chinese expat families who have migrated to western countries?