Tackling senior malnutrition: Lithuanian research targets swallowing difficulties

30 Apr 2019 --- Lithuanian scientists have developed an innovative micronutrient-rich food product for elderly people with swallowing difficulties. The researchers from Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) and Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LSMU) tested the food with a group of geriatric patients. The trial showed that the nutritional state and the health indicators of the patients improved significantly after ten days of consuming the product. The new food is touted as visually attractive and tasty.

The innovative food is a 3cm in diameter ball and is the result of molecular gastronomy, Milda Kersienė, Associate Professor at Kaunas University of Technology, tells NutritionInsight.

The main part of the “ball” can be made from different sources of raw materials such as meat, fish, vegetables, pulses or cheese. A variety of raw materials allows to estimate protein and/or fibre content. The nutritional value of the balls can variate-according to one's needs, Kersienė explains. This freedom in formulation allowed the researchers to create a soft, tender and moist product, which needs a very little chewing. 

“The main part of ball is coated with edible film, providing an ability to keep the product in a form. The use of vegetable or fruit juices as main film ingredients gives different colors, tastes and a very attractive appearance,” notes Kersienė.

Research has shown that the senior population faces a lot of unaddressed nutritional issues that impact health and quality of life and is slighted by the industry, from an NPD point of view. Innova Market Insights data has shown a CAGR decrease in new product launches (food and beverages and supplements) targeting the aging consumer between 2013 and 2017 of roughly -10 percent.

Researchers of Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) and Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LSMU) developed innovative micronutrient-rich food product for elderly people with swallowing difficulties.However, the industry is progressively responding to this unexplored marketing demographic, especially within the protein, collagen and bone health spaces. 

Age-related conditions, such as a reduction of taste, smell and overall appetite, as well as limited mobility, can prevent seniors from achieving an adequate nutrient intake. Adding to this are swallowing disorders, which render the consumption of food a challenge among seniors. 

Older adults often do not consume enough proteins, their nutrition lacks vitamins B and C, minerals, such as zinc and selenium and unsaturated fatty acids. Malnutrition and unintentional weight loss contribute to a progressive decline in health, reduced physical and cognitive functions, such as weakened sight and sense of taste and increased mortality.

All the above, contribute to why special foods developed and formulated specifically for the elderly demographic are a significant need, according to the researchers. 

“Our aim was to develop a food product for elderly patients with swallowing difficulties and to test the efficiency of the product together with our colleagues from health sciences. The main challenge was to create not only nutritionally valuable but also a tasty product of a certain structure suitable to this group of patients,” says team leader, Professor Daiva Leskauskaite.

Led by Leskauskaite and in collaboration with researchers Ina Jasutiene, Milda Kersiene, Viktorija Eisinaite and two students, the development period of the new food lasted roughly nine months. The team was looking for the optimal composition and balance between the price and quality of the product.

The new food is rich in unsaturated fat, has few carbohydrates and lactose and is also rich in fat-soluble vitamins A and D3. In addition, it contains the main vitamins from B group and minerals such as zinc, selenium and calcium. The product has a creamy consistency so it can be easily consumed by those with swallowing difficulties. It also contains black chokeberry extract which offers an attractive color and good taste while enriching the product with valuable anthocyanins, say the researchers. 

The team used encapsulation technology to insert micronutrients into the product. This improved the delivery of the bioactive materials from the food during digestion.

The product was tested in the patients of the LSMU Geriatric Medicine Clinic. The group that consumed 200ml of the product for ten days showed increased arm circumference, more vigorous gait while doubling the concentration of vitamin B12 in the blood. 

“During the test, the comparison of our product and the corresponding produced in Poland was made. The results revealed that our product was more nutritionally valuable for elderly people – the health indicators were significantly better for the group which was consuming food created at KTU,” says Professor Leskauskaite.

Experts’ advice and senior nutrition focused NPD
Every day 10,000 Americans turn 65 while 8 percent of the global population is over 65. This is expected to grow to 13 percent (one billion) by 2030, according to United Nations estimates. This is the fastest growing consumer demographic, with spending power that will reach US$15 trillion worldwide by 2020. The 50+ market accounts for 39 percent of all online purchases and interacts heavily online for food and drink purchases.

Targeting this demographic, the industry has noted some NPD in the space. Perennial is a newly-established vegan brand that recently launched its debut product, a beverage that targets 50+ consumers and promotes healthy aging, featuring fiber, vitamins and plant protein. Key players in the supplementation arena are also increasingly focusing on the senior consumer and tout the benefits of collagen supplementation in favor of an active lifestyle well into senior life. 

Hormel Health Labs introduces Thick & Easy pureed meal kitsIn the same space and to provide nutrition solutions for those suffering from dysphagia, Hormel Health Labs, a Hormel Foods Corporation subsidiary, has launched Thick & Easy pureed meal kits. The meals kits were designed by chefs who understand the importance of ease of preparation, but also the need for great flavor and variety.

“Many people who struggle with dysphagia at home resort to eating baby food,” says Tim Garry, director of marketing at Hormel Health Labs. “Offering foods that look and taste great is a big quality of life improvement.”

Each meal kit contains a wide variety of foods to provide nutrition solutions for any meal. Lunch and dinner kits contain over 30 items and food for at least six separate meals, including entrees, sides and desserts. Breakfast kits provide enough food for nine or more nutritious meals. Simply steam or microwave and the meals are ready to eat.

Emerging science is also highlighting the nutritional deficiencies that the elderly face. One in two persons aged 65 and above has suboptimal levels of vitamin D in the blood, according to researchers at the Helmholtz Zentrum München, Germany. Moreover, one in four older adults has suboptimal vitamin B12 level, the authors of the study report in the journal Nutrients.

Research from the Institute for Biomedicine of Ageing (IBA) at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) noted that people who are unmarried, separated or divorced are most often affected by malnutrition into old age, while men and women who are either married or widowed tend to take better care of themselves.

Recently, research from the (PROMISS) consortium underscored that dietary strategies to boost protein intake among elderly people should better take into account sensory properties, familiarity, affordability, accessibility and convenience. Christine Yung Hung, PROMISS researcher, tells NutritionInsight that there are many untapped areas for food innovation targeting protein malnutrition in the elderly. Industry should, therefore, focus on producing high-quality and sustainable protein, with products that are appealing to this consumer demographic.

By Kristiana Lalou