Energy and nutrient content of food served and consumed by nursing home residents

• Published in: The Journal of nutrition, health & aging Vol. 21; no. 6; pp. 727 - 732
• Main Authors: Buckinx, Fanny, Allepaerts, S., Paquot, N., Reginster, J.Y., de Cock, C., Petermans, J., Bruyère, O.
• Format: Journal Article Web Resource
• Language: English
• Published: Paris Elsevier Masson SAS 01.06.2017; Springer Paris; Springer Nature B.V; Springer
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; body mass index; Body Weight; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diet - statistics & numerical data; Dietary Fats - analysis; Dietary Proteins - analysis; Eating; energy; energy content; Energy Intake; Female; Food; food consumption; food intake; Food Services; Geriatrics; Geriatrics/Gerontology; Gériatrie; Human health sciences; Humans; Male; Malnutrition; Meals; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Neurosciences; Nursing homes; Nursing Homes - statistics & numerical data; nutrient content; Nutrition; Nutrition Assessment; Nutritive Value; Primary Care Medicine; protein content; Proteins; Public health, health care sciences & services; Quality of Life Research; risk; Santé publique, services médicaux & soins de santé; Sciences de la santé humaine; selection criteria; texture; Weighing food; women; food consumption; Weighing food; nursing homes; food intake
• ISSN: 1279-7707; 1760-4788; 1760-4788
• DOI: 10.1007/s12603-016-0782-2

The aim of this study was to compare energy and protein content of the served food with the actual intake from the food consumed by nursing home residents. This study also aimed to compare food intake and dietary allowances. This is a cross sectional study. This study was performed in nursing homes. Residents of these 2 nursing homes were eligible for the study if they agreed to participate and if they meet the selection criteria (to be older than 65 years and have a regular texture diet). Nutrient content of the served food and real food consumption was calculated for all meals during a 5-day period by precise weighting method. Difference between consumed and served dietary content was evaluated by the Chi² test. Seventy-four Belgian nursing home residents (75% of women, 85.8 ± 7.04 years on average) were included in this study. These subjects had a mean body mass index of 24.9 ± 4.83 kg/m². The mean energy content of the served food was 1783.3 ± 125.7 kcal per day. However, residents did not eat the whole of the meals and the actual energy content of the consumed food was significantly less (1552.4 ± 342.1 kcal per day; p<.001). The average protein content of the food served was equal to 0.96 ± 0.20 g/kg/day and the average consumption of protein by the residents was 0.88 ± 0.25 g/kg/day. The difference between protein served and consumed was also significant (p=.04). Moreover, people considered as well nourished, eating significantly more energy than the others (p=.04). Meals served in nursing homes are not entirely consumed by their residents. As expected, the energy consumed are lower in subjects considered as malnourished or at risk of malnutrition.