"These choices are easier to prepare and have a longer shelflife, minimizing waste," said Alice Lichtenstein, director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. "Such factors are important to consider when arthritis kicks in or dark, cold days mean it is less likely someone will go out to replenish their refrigerator."

Guidance related to the specific forms of food that can best meet older adults' needs are unique to the modified version of MyPyramid for Older Adults. The new pyramid's graphic includes pictures of a jar of peanut butter, canned kidney beans, a tin of tuna fish, mixed dried fruit and frozen berries and broccoli.

Updated by Tufts researchers to correspond with the USDA's MyPyramid, the modified version is intended to be used as a supplement to the MyPyramid computer-based program. Lichtenstein and her colleagues developed the modified print-based version because they were concerned about computer use among older adults. Their efforts were funded by a grant from the USDA and the Ross Initiative on Aging at Tufts. The original Food Guide Pyramid for Older Adults was published by Tufts researchers in 1999.

From the January 7, 2008, Prepared Foods e-Flash