Nutritional assessment in elderly women

Abstract

Adequate nutritional status is important for the maintenance of health and function in elderly individuals, but difficult to assess in this population. We evaluated two new methods of dietary assessment, which are applicable to a cafeteria setting, similar to those found in nursing homes. The methods are a short-term dietary recall method (same day) and a structured food record method (full list of foods and portion sizes). Each method measured a 24-hour period of dietary intake. These methods were compared with a simultaneously measured observational method, the gold standard. The subjects were a subset of the NUN study cohort, 23 individuals aged 87–98 years. Subjects were cognitively intact and did not have physical impairments that could impair responses. A cross-over design was used and the subjects were randomized to the two assessment methods. Concordance between the observational method and short-term dietary recall method and structured food record method, regarding recording of the food items consumed was 68% and 79%, respectively. Agreement in measurements of the amounts of food consumption between the observational method and short-term dietary recall method and structured food record method were both 72 %. The agreement between methods suggests that these methods can provide a good assessment of dietary intakes in an elderly population, albeit less accurate than the observational method.