A decline in appetite and consequently in food intake is often observed with ageing, particularly in older adults living in nursing homes. Several strategies have been tested in nursing homes to counter this phenomenon. However, the approaches have rarely focused on food improvement, and most studies have assessed the impact of flavor enhancement on eating behavior. The present experiment aimed to assess the impact of improving sensory quality versus increasing sensory variety on food intake and meal enjoyment in elderly individuals living in a nursing home. Four conditions were compared: control condition, a Quality+ condition (recipes were improved according to sensory preference of the target population), a Variety+ condition (participants were offered a variety of main dishes and several condiments throughout the meal) and a Quality&Variety+ condition combining the two previous conditions. Eighty-two residents (age range: 71-101 years) participated in eight lunchtime sessions (2 replicates × 4 conditions). Compared to control condition, our results showed that improving the sensory quality of the dishes and/or providing variety led to increased meal enjoyment and food intake (energy intake: +5% for Quality+; +7% for Variety+). No additional effect was observed when the two factors were combined (+7% for Quality&Variety+). These results suggest that meal improvement strategies can be used to increase food intake in order to prevent and treat malnutrition in dependent older adults.

中文翻译：

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优化感官质量和多样性：增加老年疗养院居民用餐享受和食物摄入量的有效策略

随着年龄的增长，通常会观察到食欲下降，从而导致食物摄入量下降，尤其是住在疗养院的老年人。已经在疗养院测试了几种策略来应对这种现象。然而，这些方法很少关注食品改进，大多数研究都评估了风味增强对饮食行为的影响。本实验旨在评估改善感官质量与增加感官多样性对住在疗养院的老年人的食物摄入和用餐享受的影响。比较了四种条件：对照条件、Quality+条件（根据目标人群的感官偏好改进食谱）、Variety+条件（在整个用餐过程中向参与者提供各种主菜和几种调味品）和Quality& Variety+ 条件结合了前两个条件。八十二名居民（年龄范围：71-101 岁）参加了八次午餐时间（2 次重复 × 4 条件）。与对照条件相比，我们的结果表明，提高菜肴的感官质量和/或提供多样性可以增加用餐乐趣和食物摄入量（能量摄入：质量++5%；品种++7%）。当两个因素结合时，没有观察到额外的影响（质量和品种+ 7%）。这些结果表明，膳食改善策略可用于增加食物摄入量，以预防和治疗依赖老年人的营养不良。与对照条件相比，我们的结果表明，提高菜肴的感官质量和/或提供多样性可以增加用餐乐趣和食物摄入量（能量摄入：质量++5%；品种++7%）。当两个因素结合时，没有观察到额外的影响（质量和品种+ 7%）。这些结果表明，膳食改善策略可用于增加食物摄入量，以预防和治疗依赖老年人的营养不良。与对照条件相比，我们的结果表明，提高菜肴的感官质量和/或提供多样性可以增加用餐乐趣和食物摄入量（能量摄入：质量++5%；品种++7%）。当两个因素结合时，没有观察到额外的影响（质量和品种+ 7%）。这些结果表明，膳食改善策略可用于增加食物摄入量，以预防和治疗依赖老年人的营养不良。