Fleury S, Sulmont-Rossé C, Cabanes H, Perruchaud M, Roger A, Lesourd B, Tronchon P, Van Wymelbeke-Delannoy V, Maître I. Relevance and Feasibility of a Personalized Dietary Intervention in Older People with Meals-On-Wheels: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial.
JAR Life 2020;
9:40-46. [PMID:
36922924 PMCID:
PMC10002899 DOI:
10.14283/jarlife.2020.9]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2020] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Objective
The present study aimed at assessing the feasibility and the effectiveness of a personalized dietary intervention in a meals-on-wheels service through a randomized controlled pilot trial.
Design
Sixty recipients of home-delivered meals (75% of women; 70-97 years old) were recruited and randomly assigned to a control and an experimental group and followed over a period of 4 months. In the experimental group, the nutritional status (Mini-Nutritional Assessment - MNA questionnaire), the food intake and the food preferences were measured for each participant. Based on this screening, participants were provided with dietary guidance and follow-up. Those at risk of malnutrition were proposed enriched home-delivered meals. Enrichment was set up considering food preferences of the participants.
Results
Looking at the whole sample at baseline, 80% (n=48/60) were at risk of malnutrition. Furthermore, 55% (n=33/60) ate less than 2/3 of their calorie and/or protein recommended allowances. In the experimental group, the intervention led to an increase of protein intakes and to a lower extent of calorie intake. In the control group, no significant changes were observed.
Conclusion
To conclude, this study suggests that providing dietary guidance and adding nutrient-dense food to meals while considering food preferences is feasible and may help older beneficiaries of meals-on-wheels to increase calorie and protein intake and improve their nutritional status. However, there is a need to develop products or recipes to enrich the meals of the elderly more efficiently to achieve the recommended allowance.
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