Eradicating Hunger from the Elderly Population - Assignment Example

Institute’s Sociology 25 July Eradicating Hunger from the Elderly Population Hunger is threatening millions of elderly citizens of United States and even though this overwhelming threat is surfacing in the public, very less is known about it. There are very few people who might know what it is, what its causes are and what consequences it might end us up in. We need to know if hunger in the elderly remains the same in the twenty years, what is bound to happen. These are the questions that Margaret Haist in her research with other fellow colleagues tackles in her report about hunger in elders of America (Ziliak, Gunderson, Haist, 2008).

Going through her report, when it tackles our intelligences in the start asking questions makes one want to find out more about the issue. She is the one that we choose for the interview. For the preparations of interview with her it is necessary for us to gain as much background as we can on the issues she chose to tackle. If the wages of people remain the same but housing costs continue rising, the food-banks say that people will be forced to line up in front of them to feed their families (Koch, 2000).

Reading Haist’s report thoroughly, extracting questionable information from it and then comparing it to the fact of today’s date is what is going to help us in making questions and debating with her. In her report, the solutions that she has given, we can compare the hunger ratio of 2012 to see if her solutions, presented in the years 2008, were any help at all. If the solutions were able to help then how they were able to do that and if they weren’t then what is the reason to that. The sources used in this paper concentrate on the possible ways in which the elderly population can be saved from the curse of hunger.

The sources not only define cures but also mention how the targeted population ends up in such a situation in the first place. When talking of eradicating or making an effort at removing the aspect of hunger from the elderly population, it is necessary that one be aware of the population they are dealing with. The old age is said to be the ‘second childhood’ according to Shakespeare. The most elderly, when left in the care of professional in a society like ours who are paid to feed and talk to them, try to do things that may capture the attention of their child and bring them back to them.

And that is what the source; ‘The Aspects of Food Refusal’ (Duggal, A., & Lawrence, R. M., 2001) talks about. Questions that were asked in the interview along with their answers are;Question 1 In your report you claim that elders who lack emotional and financial support are more likely to suffer from hunger, do you think if psychological help was to be provided to such elders, there would be an improvement in their state?Answer Psychological help would prove great for elders as such and this aspect is being working on.

The development of nursing homes that not only take care of elders but also provide them emotional support is emerging on the community.Question 2 How is collecting the data on the money spent on food consumptions by families, going to help the elders suffering from hunger, when according to you most of these elders are without any emotional or financial support?AnswerThe data may prove helpful because it will tell us the economic value that goes on food consumption and the value required to feed the elderly and with that data the rates of food products in the market can be managed so everyone can take advantage from them.

Question 3 How is pointing out that elders of racial minorities suffer more from hunger going to help in decreasing these hunger rates?AnswerThat aspect will help us in finding a better focus and not let us get distracted, if we know which population suffers the most will allow us to help that population the most.ReferencesDuggal, A., & Lawrence, R. M. (2001). Aspects of food refusal in the elderly: The “hunger strike. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 30(2), 213-216. doi:10.1002/eat.

1075Koch, Kathy. "Hunger in America. How bad is the problem?." CQ Researcher. N.p., 22 Dec. 2000. Web. 25 July 2012.Ziliak, James P., Craig Gunderson, and Margaret Haist. "The Causes, Consequences, and Future of Senior Hunger in America." University of Kentucky. Center for Poverty Research. N.p., Mar. 2008. Web. 25 July 2012.