Mitigating Nutrition and Health Deficiencies in Older Adults: A Role for Food Innovation?

Abstract

The aim of this review is to describe the factors contributing to diminished food intake, resulting in nutritional deficiencies and associated health conditions in older adults and proposes food innovation strategies to mitigate these. Research has provided convincing evidence of a link between healthy eating patterns and healthy aging. There is a need to target new food product development (NPD) with functional health benefits specifically designed to address the particular food-related needs of older consumers. When developing foods for older adults, consideration should be given to the increased requirements for specific macro-and micronutrients, especially protein, calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin B. Changes in chemosensory acuity, chewing difficulties, and reduced or poor swallowing ability should also be considered. To compensate for the diminished appetite and reduced intake, foods should be energy dense, nutritionally adequate, and, most importantly, palatable, when targeting this cohort. This paper describes the potential of new food product development to facilitate dietary modification and address health deficiencies in older adults.Keywords: age-related diseases, healthy aging, new product development (NPD), nutritional deficiencies Practical Application: To describe health challenges associated with declining food intakes in older adults and identify how food innovation can assist with preserving functional ability and prolonging quality of healthy life.

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The ageing pancreas: a systematic review of the evidence and analysis of the consequences

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Influence of cooking method, fat content and food additives on physicochemical and nutritional properties of beef meatballs fortified with sugarcane fibre

“…Roininen et al () showed that older adults preferred foods that can be consumed effortlessly providing an easy eating experience, but at the same time, textures that were too smooth or too soft were not appreciated. Furthermore, chemosensory acuity is negatively affected by factors such as dentures which is associated with the ageing process and this has been shown to lead to negative changes in food appreciation and diet (Baugreet et al , ). This vulnerable group of elderly consumers demand nutrient dense foods with the precise sensory attributes to improve food intake and digestion hence the need for research in this area.…”