Abstract
The proportion of adults aged over 60 years in the world is expected to reach 20% by the year 2050. Ageing is associated with several physiological changes that increase the risk of malnutrition among this population. Malnutrition is characterized by deficiencies or insufficiencies of macro- and micronutrients. Malnutrition has detrimental effects on the health, wellbeing, and quality of life in older adults. Nuts are rich in energy, unsaturated fats, and protein, as well as other nutrients that provide a range of health benefits. While the effects of nuts on overnutrition have been studied extensively, very few studies have been specifically designed to understand the role of nuts in mitigating undernutrition in the elderly. Therefore, this review explores the potential role of nuts in improving the nutritional status of older adults who are at risk of undernutrition. Several properties of whole nuts, some of which appear important for addressing overnutrition, (e.g., hardness, lower-than-expected nutrient availability, satiety-enhancing effects) may limit their effectiveness as a food to combat undernutrition. However, we propose that modifications such as transforming the physical form of nuts, addressing the timing of nut ingestion, and introducing variety may overcome these barriers. This review also discusses the feasibility of using nuts to prevent and reverse undernutrition among older adults. We conclude with a recommendation to conduct clinical studies in the future to test this conceptual framework.
Highlights
Ageing and Risks of MalnutritionBased on the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs’ report ‘World PopulationAgeing’ released in 2015, approximately 12.5% of the world population is aged 60 years or over [1].This number is projected to reach 20% by 2050, and this population will overtake adolescent and youth groups
We explore and propose the use of nuts in enhancing the nutritional intake of older adults based on available knowledge on the health effects of nuts
We propose that energy and nutrient intake is determined by three this conceptual framework, we propose that energy and nutrient intake is determined by threemajor major factors nutrient density, the the portion size size of foods ingested, and the frequency of eating
Summary
Older adults are at greater risk of dietary insufficiency due to age-related increases in nutrient requirements concomitant with a reduction in energy requirements and decreases in appetite and energy intake [4,12]. The manipulation of energy density of test meals, while maintaining the portion size, size, led ledto tosignificant significantchanges changesin inenergy energyintake intakefrom fromthat thatmeal, meal,which whichsubsequently subsequentlyextended extendedto tothe thetotal total daily energy intake [25]. This observation is not too surprising because energy densities of foods daily energy intake [25].
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