Abstract
In an aging population, support for independent living is increasingly critical for older generations. Currently, sarcopenia is a major cause of frailty, which increases the risk of decreased mobility, falls, morbidity, and mortality and leads to dependence on third parties. Sarcopenia is preventable by consumption of adequate protein. However, many older people do not meet the recommended daily allowance of protein, thereby supporting dependence rather than independent living. Current literature indicates that a protein drink could be an appropriate product for older peoples' protein consumption. We were interested in autonomous persons whose nutritional decisions were still self-determined and thus could preventively influence their personal health. This study evaluated three commercially available protein drinks in three focus groups (n = 25) to gain insight into which aspects influence the perception of commercial protein drinks on community-dwelling older people (age, 76.8 ± 4.9). Findings from the focus groups revealed only aspects, which influenced the perception of commercial protein drinks negatively. Most importantly, the drinks did not comply with relevant aspects when buying (healthy) foods, which where naturalness, freshness, locally grown ingredients, and trust. Furthermore, the target group did not see a need for additional protein consumption. Thus, we identify important aspects to be considered for the development of a target-group-specific protein drink as well as more suitable communication to prevent distrust in order to support independent living for community-dwelling older people.
Highlights
In an aging population, maintaining physical function and mobility as well as enabling independent living is highly important for older people aged 65 years or more [1, 2]
The aim of this study was to gain insight into the aspects, which influence the perception of commercial protein drinks with at least 8 g of protein per 100 ml from community-dwelling older people to understand their needs and find an adequate method for appropriate protein intake at this stage
We were especially interested in autonomous persons, whose decisions were still selfdetermined in order to find a product that can be readily added to the diet of older people to prevent frailty or other ailments caused by inadequate protein intake
Summary
In an aging population, maintaining physical function and mobility as well as enabling independent living is highly important for older people aged 65 years or more [1, 2]. An essential factor as to why older people cannot live independently is the age-related loss of muscle mass, muscle strength, and function, called sarcopenia. Many older people do not meet the recommended daily intake of 0.8 g protein/kg of body weight per day [6, 9,10,11]. There is growing evidence that older people even have higher protein requirements of 1.0–1.2 g/kg of body weight per day in order to maintain muscle mass and function [1, 12, 13]
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