Effect of dietary supplements and physical exercise on sensory perception,appetite, dietary intake and body weight in frail elderly subjects

This present study investigated the effect of a 17-week intervention progra mme with nutrient-dense foods (enriched with vitamins and minerals at 25-10 0 % of the Dutch recommended dietary allowance) and/or physical exercise in 159 frail elderly subjects (forty-six men, 113 women, mean age 78.7 (sD 5. 6) years). Subjects were randomized into four groups: (1) control, (2) nutr ition intervention, (3) exercise or (4) both nutrition intervention and exe rcise. Main outcome variables were sensory perception (smell test and quest ionnaire), appetite (questionnaire), energy intake (3 d food record) and bo dy weight ton a weighing scale and with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry me asurements). At baseline, moderate but significant correlations were found between appetite and energy intake (r 0.30, P < 0.0001), between smell test and smell perception assessed by questionnaire (r 0.40, P < 0.0001) and be tween lean body weight and energy intake (r 0.50, P < 0.0001). Results afte r 17-weeks intervention revealed neither change in smell test scores (P = 0 .19) nor in appetite (P = 0.17). A slight positive effect of exercise compa red with non-exercising groups on energy intake (difference 0.5 MJ, P = 0.0 5) was shown next to a preserving effect of exercise on lean body mass (+0. 08 kg) compared with a decrease (-0.4 kg) in non-exercisers (P < 0.02). The correlation between the change in lean body mass and change in energy inta ke was 0.18 (P = 0.05). In conclusion, an interesting preserving effect on lean body mass in frail elderly subjects due to 17 weeks of exercise was sh own. Since a decline in lean body mass was observed in the non-exercisers, effects may be attributable to change in activity pattern. Changes in lean mass were also slightly, but significantly, correlated with changes in ener gy intake. In turn, energy intake was not related to a change in reported a ppetite or sensory perception. Nutrient-dense foods were not able to improv e any of the outcome variables in this study.