Flavor enhancement of food improves dietary intake and nutritional status of elderly nursing home residents

Background. Taste and smell losses occur with aging. These changes may decr ease the enjoyment of food and may subsequently reduce food consumption and negatively influence the nutritional status of elderly persons, especially those who are frail. The objective of this study was to determine if the a ddition of flavor enhancers to the cooked meals for elderly residents of a nursing home promotes food consumption and provides nutritional benefits. Methods. we performed a 16-week parallel group intervention consisting of s prinkling flavor enhancers over the cooked meals of the "flavor" group (n = 36) and not over the meals of the control group (n = 31). Measurement of i ntake of the cooked meals were taken before and after 8 and 16 weeks of int ervention. Appetite. daily dietary intake, and anthropometry were assessed before and after the intervention. Results. On average, the body weight of the flavor group increased ( + 1.1 +/- 1.3 kg: p < .05) compared with that of the control group (-0.3 <plus/mi nus> 1.6 kg: p < .05). Daily dietary intake decreased in the control group (-485 <plus/minus> 1245 kJ: p < .05) but not in the flavor group (-208 <plu s/minus> 1115 kJ: p = .28). Intake of the cooked meal increased in the flav or group (133 +/- 367 kJ; p < .05) but not in the control group (85 <plus/m inus> 392 kJ). A similar trend was observed for hunger feelings, which incr eased only in the flavor group. Conclusion. Adding flavor enhancers to the cooked meals was an effective wa y to improve dietary intake and body weight in elderly nursing home residen ts.