Abstract
Older adults (60+ years) are at higher risk of malnutrition. Improving the nutrient-density of their diets is important but presents challenges due to the introduction of new ingredients, liking implications and heterogeneity of older consumers. Ten nutrient-enhanced foods were evaluated for liking (9-point hedonic scale) and sensory perception (check-all-that-apply) by 71 older adults. Three foods were re-evaluated after participants were provided with information about their healthy ingredients and benefits. Participants were also segmented based on their degrees of food neophobia and interests in healthy eating, using questionnaires. The results showed that eight foods had adequate sensory appeal (overall hedonic score of ≥6) to be pursued for residential care menus. Segmentation based on food neophobia and healthy eating interests did not yield any meaningful differences between groups. The effect of health information on liking for the overall sample and subgroups was product-specific: liking scores only increased for the raspberry banana smoothie in the overall test population and higher healthy eating interest subgroup. Health information may lead to the experience of more positive attributes in some foods. Overall, eight foods that were tested could be accepted by a wide range of consumers and providing them with health information may further improve acceptance.
Highlights
Published: 29 December 2020Older adults (≥60 years old) are a significant and growing proportion of the Canadian population
Based on the overall liking score (≥6, Table 3), this study identified up to eight newly developed, nutrient-enhanced food products that could be used to increase the nutrient density of older adults’ diets and be a part of the food-first intervention to combatting malnutrition in this population
The group of participants that was shown to have a greater interest in healthy eating reported significantly higher liking scores for only the oatmeal berry parfait than the group with lower interests in healthy eating. This is likely not a very significant finding, it is hypothesized that the higher health interest group may be more accustomed to tastes and textures of the nutritious ingredients incorporated into this traditional dessert, such as plain Greek yogurt, berries, oats and seeds, since it is assumed that a greater interest in healthy diets is correlated with the consumption of a healthier diet itself [22]. These findings suggest that the influence of older adults’ healthy eating interests on liking of nutrient-enhanced foods is product-specific
Summary
Published: 29 December 2020Older adults (≥60 years old) are a significant and growing proportion of the Canadian population. Older adults in Canada are a vulnerable subgroup, with 34–68% at moderate to high risk of malnutrition [2]. This is due to factors such as physical difficulties, lack of interest in food, suppressed appetites and impaired tasting capabilities [3,4]. For these reasons, it is unlikely that older adults are meeting the necessary nutritional requirements, but offering nutrient-dense food options could help improve nutrient deficiencies and malnutrition in this population [5].
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