Dietary Intake of Elderly Living in Toronto Long-Term Care Facilities: Comparison to the Dietary Reference Intake

Abstract

Elderly subjects living in LTCFs in Toronto despite having a normal body mass index (BMI), do not meet the recommended levels of intake for protein and many of the micronutrients. LTCFs staff should monitor dietary intake. Menu modification and micronutrient supplementation may be required in order to meet the daily requirements of these elderly.

Serum micronutrient status and nutrient intake of elderly Yoruba people in a slum of Ibadan, Nigeria

“…Moreover, Olayiwola and Ketiku documented low energy and protein intakes by elderly people in some parts of Nigeria (10) . Similarly, lower energy intake by the elderly was recorded in Switzerland and Canada (32)(33)(34)(35) . The poor intake of vitamin B by the elderly Yoruba people may be due primarily to the prominent consumption of roots and tubers; little consumption of legumes, such as cooked beans, was recorded.…”

“…The nutritional implications of low intakes and low serum levels of vitamins in the elderly are significant. Many nutrition researchers have found that vitamins (retinol, cholecalciferol and ascorbic acid) are protective against oxidative stress and some chronic diseases (31)(32)(33)(34) . Statistical analysis identified a positive correlation between energy intake and serum vitamin A for both males (r 5 0?28, P , 0?05) and females (r 5 0?22, P , 0?05; Table 3).…”

“…However, the elderly Yorubas had lower Ca, Zn and P intakes than their counterparts in developed countries (34) . Indeed, a study in Toronto found that 50 % of the surveyed elderly persons had suboptimal intakes of Ca, P, Zn and Mg, and a mean daily energy intake of 6330 (SD 3611) kJ (1513 (SD 863) kcal) (32) . In the present study the majority of foods consumed by the elderly were from plants whose micronutrients can be hindered by the presence of phytates, oxalates and the method of food preparation (20) ; in addition to decreased energy and protein intake (3,20,32,33) .…”

“…In addition, high dietary oxalate and phytate levels and nutrient-nutrient interactions can also affect the availability of minerals (6,13,25,31,32,34,35) . To overcome the poor availability of micronutrients, elderly people may have to diversify their diet and take supplements.…”

“…To overcome the poor availability of micronutrients, elderly people may have to diversify their diet and take supplements. This may be true even for vitamin D. Although vitamin D is generally obtained directly from sunlight (3,13,32) , the fact that 50 % of the elderly Yorubas were deficient suggests that their exposure to sunlight is also not adequate.…”