Dietary assessment methods for older persons

Abstract

The best approach for dietary assessment in older persons depends on the purpose of the assessment and the specific abilities and impairments of the sample or person under study. Research is needed to further develop existing methods in order to meet the needs of old and very old persons and to identify major modifiable prognostic nutritional characteristics.

ESPEN guideline on clinical nutrition and hydration in geriatrics

“…Dietary intake monitoring (e.g. by plate diagrams) is recommended for several days in order to estimate the amount of food and fluid consumed [48] and relate dietary intake to individual requirements (see recommendation 1).…”

Are the therapeutic strategies in anorexia of ageing effective on nutritional status? A systematic review with meta‐analysis

“…It is important to note that following a nutritional support could be difficult for this population as a result of the coexistence of many factors: loss of appetite, inactivity, sensory impairment, early satiation, psychological disorders and mental impairments. Furthermore, AA treatment requires a multidimensional approach, including food manipulation (improvement of flavour, food texture and palatability, increasing dietary variety, and feeding assistance), correction of environmental threat (preventing social isolation and improving conviviality, particularly in nursing home residents, providing adequate individual feeding assistance, changing the mealtime routine, modifying the dining environment, and staff training), reduction of pharmacological risk factors (a certain number of cardiovascular, psychiatric and anti‐rheumatic drugs may reduce appetite) and treatment of underlying medical causes (swallowing disorders, dyspepsia, malabsorption syndromes, neurological causes, endocrine and psychiatric disorders, respiratory diseases and cardiovascular diseases), as recommended in mumerous studies . Special attention should be also given to the nutritional screening tools, which constitute the primary intervention in the treatment of AA.…”

Needs assessment for patients food intake monitoring among Indonesian healthcare professionals

“…Encouragingly, all of the respondents from the three staff groups agreed on the importance of recording patients’ food intake to determine nutrient adequacy and create an appropriate dietary plan. Nursing staff often rely on food intake reports to ensure patients’ food intake meets their nutritional requirements and to plan nutritional intervention to reduce the risk of developing malnutrition during their hospital stay (Castellanos & Andrews ; Volkert & Schrader ; Weekes et al. ).…”

“…; Castellanos & Andrews ). Therefore, these limitations reinforce the need for more powerful studies in developing and validating different approaches for food intake estimation in the clinical setting (Volkert & Schrader ). However, a needs assessment should be conducted first to ensure that any new tool is relevant and well accepted.…”