Measuring eating capability, liking and difficulty perception of older adults: A textural consideration

Abstract

a b s t r a c tMalnutrition in older adults is partly attributable to decreasing muscle strength leading to inadequate intakes. It is therefore important to investigate ways of identifying eating capability both through objective measures of strength and subjective measures of perceived difficulty and liking. In addition, food texture design might affect the oral processing and the difficulty perceived. Therefore the present study sets out to examine the relationship between various quantitative measures of eating capability (EC) and perceived difficulty of processing foods and gels varying in hardness in older adults. Tests were conducted on 30 participants (mean age 79 ± 9.4 years) using non-invasive techniques (hand gripping force, tongue pressure, biting force, and hand dexterity) in conjunction with frame-by-frame video recording analysis of chewing and swallowing of food stimuli and ratings of eating difficulty. The EC scores were computed to grade the population into three different groups. Stimuli were classified into two categories: food products and flavourless hydrocolloid gels with different inhomogeneity (textures). The EC parameters did not correspond to oral residence time, or the difficulty perceived. Bite force differed by EC group, and was significantly different by dental status [F(3,4.26) = 3.842, p = 0.022], and influenced both liking and number of chews. The food hardness (r = 0.915, p = 0.01) was significantly correlated with the number of chews. Gel heterogeneity influenced food oral processing behaviour. Oral residence time was significantly correlated with number of chews, liking and difficulty perceived. In summary, dental status and bite force of older adults are determining EC parameters to design optimized food-texture.

Dysphagia and factors associated with malnutrition risk: A 5‐year multicentre study

“…We recommend carrying out assessments for dysphagia in all patients at risk of malnutrition. The assessment should be carried out because patients at risk of malnutrition and dysphagia often have different diets or meal consistency requirements (Baugreet, Hamill, Kerry, & McCarthy, ; Brown, Ross, Jones, Hughes, & Banks, ; Laguna et al, ). This recommendation is supported by the findings of Popman, Richter, Allen, and Wham (), who described an association between a high risk of malnutrition and a higher prevalence of dysphagia.…”

Oral processing of emulsion systems from a colloidal perspective

“…111,112 Interestingly, such inactive calcium alginate microgel particles significantly increased the oral residence time in young adults 109 (Fig. 8) as well as the elderly 113 compared with a single continuous gel system made up of correspondingcarrageenan concentrations. Also, such an increase in oral residence time was achieved without a significant increase in eating difficulty perception; this is an important consideration when designing food for the elderly.…”

Aging‐related changes in quantity and quality of saliva: Where do we stand in our understanding?

“…Besides affecting physical and physiological capabilities, aging significantly impacts nutritional status by other means. For instance, defective teeth or teeth loss, poor oral hygiene, lack of saliva resulting in impaired oral processing, taste and texture aberrations can result in reduced nutrient intake and consequently malnutrition (Coleman, ; Laguna et al, ; Laguna, Hetherington, Chen, Artigas, & Sarkar, ; Laguna, Sarkar, Artigas, & Chen, ; Laguna, Sarkar, & Chen, ; Mingioni et al, ). Swallowing disorders (dysphagia) and dry mouth (xerostomia, salivary gland hypofunction) are the most prevalent oral processing conditions encountered by aging adults.…”