Enhancing Diets for Older Adults

It is well-known that older adults are a vulnerable population. Whether they live in the community or residential facilities, undernutrition (i.e. inadequate body weight, poor nutrient intake) is common and malnutrition (i.e. specific nutrient deficiencies) is likely although relatively unknown due to inadequate monitoring and investigation. Older adults are known to require fewer calories to support health, but their nutrient needs for the most part are the same as younger adults or higher. Further, there are many risk factors that influence the food intake of older adults, such as poor appetite. The focus of this research theme is to investigate how the food provided/consumed by older adults can be enhanced so that as much nutrition can be provided in a smaller volume of food. Fortification of nutrients or preparations of foods so that they have enhanced nutrient profiles are potential means of enhancing diets.

Ongoing Research Projects:

Strategically Linking Ontario's Agri-Food Sector to Its Aging Population to Create Innovation and Sustain Competitiveness
Jessica Demeter Lisa Duizer	This project will explore methods of texture modification for fresh meat and vegetables in retirement and long-term care homes so that the nutritional and sensory qualities address the needs of older adults. Partners include: Turkey Farmers of Ontario Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association Ontario Farm Animal Council / AGCare Funding provided by the Agricultural Adaptation Council (AAC) through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's (AAFC) Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP).
Matching expectation to reality for modified texture foods: Comparison of in-house to commercial pureed products.
Lisa Duizer Laurel Ettinger Heather Keller Massimo Marcone	Older adults with degenerative diseases such as stroke, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease often suffer from dysphagia, requiring a diet of modified texture foods. Up to 30% of long-term care residents in Ontario require these specialized foods. Many of these individuals will also suffer from nutritional deficiencies, reducing their quality of life and increasing their risk of mortality. The aim of this work is to evaluate dietary meal options for aging adults with dysphagia, focusing on sensory appeal, budgetary constraints of long-term care facilities and nutritional quality. A qualitative study of expectations of commercial pureed meal ranges will be first undertaken to assess the expectations of all individuals who prepare, serve and consume these products within a long-term care facility. Following this, the acceptability of the various product lines will be assessed through sensory panels with dysphagice individuals and results will be compared to trained panel evaluations of the foods to determine the properties of the products which affect overall liking. The nutrient compostion of these products will also be determined through physical testing. Lastly a cost evaluation will be conducted.

Completed Research Projects:

An assessment of functional food strategies as a potential intervention technique to increase long-chain omega-3 fatty acids in long-term care facilities
Karin Block Thomas Lisa Duizer Ashley C. Patterson Alexandrea C. Peel Ken D. Stark	This research team will examine a strategy to increase the omega-3 fatty acid intake of an entire retirement home facility by developing and implementing various omega-3 fatty acid enriched food products through food services. The team is collaborating with Ocean Nutrition Canada to incorporate MEG-3 powder into the foods. The team will start out by assessing palatability and taste of the products created, first in a younger population, and then in the retirement community. The second part to this study will evaluate the effectiveness of these functional foods in increasing intakes of omega-3 fatty acids (EPA & DHA) via the evaluation of biochemical markers of EPA and DHA intake in an acute 8-week intervention. The objective is to test whether omega-3 fatty acid enriched foods are capable of increasing the amount of EPA and DHA in the diet and blood to levels associated with protection from several age-related morbidities. If successful, this could serve as a highly compliant and minimally invasive technique to examine the effect of omega-3 fatty acid intervention in an elderly population.
Sensory Evaluation of Soy Bread in Older Adults
Alison M. Duncan Lisa Duizer Nila Ilhamto Heather Keller	The purpose of this research project is to explore the acceptability, from a sensory perspective, of soy bread in older adults. The soy bread has been developed in a 4-year Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA)-funded University of Guelph project led by Dr. Alison Duncan. This bread was developed with the expertise of Food Scientists to be superior in nutritional content to other breads and as such presents an opportunity to improve the nutritional intake of those whose intake may be limited. In addition, this bread is made from soybeans, which have been linked to reduction in risk of numerous chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. This bread has already been studied in an ethics-approved human clinical study with young adult males so now the research team is interested in studying older adults.
Dietary requirements of residents living in retirement homes - are they getting enough omega-3 fatty acids?
Jennifer A. Fratesi Ryan C. Hogg Genevieve S. Young-Newton Ashley C. Patterson Payman Charkhzarin Karin Block Thomas Michael T. Sharratt Ken D. Stark	The research team is interested in studying the composition of the food that residents living in long-term care and retirement homes eat during the day - both in the meals they are given as well as in the snacks they consume independently. They will be focusing their analysis on the level of Omega 3 fatty acids in the diet, since these fatty acids have tremendous health benefits in areas such as dementia and macular degeneration. The outcome of this project will involve reports back to facility-specific personnel outlining the composition of the food that the residents are eating, and it may help to influence policies about dietary requirements of Omega 3 fatty acids in the meals for residents in retirement homes and long-term care facilities.