This course will address the impact of nutrition on aging and the impact of aging on nutrient needs. The worldwide population is experiencing a dramatic increase in the number of elderly, due to socioeconomic improvements, and advances in science, technology, medicine and nutrition. It is of primary importance to determine both the nutritional needs of the elderly and to adequately determine long-term nutrient needs that will prevent or ameliorate nutrition- related chronic diseases. Topics will include changes in body composition and their adverse effects such as frailty and sarcopenia, controversies about healthy weights for older adults, roles of micronutrients in ameliorating age-related deterioration in bone health and immune function, and therapies that may prevent cognitive decline. Approaches to maximizing healthy aging from physiological and sociologic aspects of these problems will be presented.