Abstract
Background/Objectives:
In selecting a dietary assessment method, several aspects such as the aim of the study and the characteristics of the target population should be taken into account. In elderly people, diminished functionality and cognitive decline may hamper dietary assessment and require tailored approaches to assess dietary intake. The objective of this paper is to summarize our experience in dietary assessment in a number of different studies in population groups over 65 years of age in the Netherlands, and to discuss this experience in the perspective of other nutrition surveys in the elderly.
Methods:
In longitudinal studies, we applied a modified dietary history; in clinical nursing home studies, trained staff observed and recorded food consumption; and in a controlled trial in healthy elderly men, we used a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ).
Results:
For all methods applied in the community-dwelling elderly people, validation studies showed a similar underestimation of intake of 10–15% compared with the reference value. In the care-depending elderly, the underestimation was less: 5% according to an observational method. The methods varied widely in the resources required, including burden to the participants, field staff and finances.
Conclusions:
For effective dietary assessment in older adults, the major challenge will be to distinguish between those elderly who are able to respond correctly to the less intensive methods, such as 24-h recalls or FFQ, and those who are not able to respond to these methods and require adapted techniques, for example, observational records.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bardoel EAG, Dicke HC, De Groot LC, Hoefnagels WHL (2001). Schatting van het rustmetabolisme van geriatrische patienten op basis van predictieformules. Ned Tijdschr Diëtisten 56, 172–179.
Biro G, Hulshof KFAM, Ovesen L, Amorim Cruz JA, Efcosum group (2002). Selection of methodology to assess food intake. Eur J Clin Nutr 65, S25–S32.
Black AE, Welch AA, Bingham SA (2000). Validation of dietary intakes measured by diet history against 24 h urinary nitrogen excretion and energy expenditure measured by the doubly-labelled water method in middle-aged women. Br J Nutr 83, 341–354.
Brussaard JH, Lowik MR, Steingrimsdottir L, Møller A, Kearney J, De Henauw S et al. (2002). A European food consumption survey method—conclusions and recommendations. Eur J Clin Nutr 56 (Suppl 2), S89–S94.
de Groot LC, van Staveren WA (2000). SENECA's accomplishments and challenges. Nutrition 16, 541–543.
de Groot LCPMG, Verheijden MW, de Henauw S, Schroll M, van Staveren WA, SENECA investigators (2004). Lifestyle, nutritional status, health, and mortality in elderly people across Europe: a review of the longitudinal results of the SENECA study. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 59A, 1277–1284.
de Jong S, Secreve A-F (1999). To determine the energy expenditure and intake of patients of a geriatric ward. MSc-thesis, Nijmegen.
Draaisma D (2008). De Heimwee Fabriek (in Dutch). Historische uitgeverij: Groningen.
Dwyer J (2006). Starting down the right path: nutrition connections with chronic diseases of later life. Am J Clin Nutr 83, 415S–420S.
Ferrari P, Slimani N, Ciampi A, Trichopoulou A, Naska A, Lauria C et al. (2002). Evaluation of under- and overreporting of energy intake in the 24-hour diet recalls in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Public Health Nutr 5, 1329–1345.
Feunekes GI, Van Staveren WA, De Vries JH, Burema J, Hautvast JG (1993). Relative and biomarker-based validity of a food-frequency questionnaire estimating intake of fats and cholesterol. Am J Clin Nutr 58, 489–496.
Gaillard C, Alix E, Salle A, Berrut G, Ritz P (2007). Energy requirements in frail elderly people: a review of the literature. Clin Nutr 26, 16–24.
Gauthier S, Reisberg B, Zaudig M, Petersen RC, Ritchie K, Broich K et al. (2006). Mild cognitive impairment. Lancet 367, 1262–1270.
Knoops K, De Groot LCPMG, Fidanza F, Alberti-Fidanza A, van Staveren WA (2006). Comparison of three different dietary scores in relation to 10-year mortality in elderly European subjects: the HALE project. Eur J Clin Nutr 60, 746–755.
Knoops KT, de Groot LC, Kromhout D, Perrin AE, Moreiras-Varela O, Menotti A et al. (2004). Mediterranean diet, lifestyle factors, and 10-year mortality in elderly European men and women: the HALE project. JAMA 12, 1433–1439.
Kumanyika SK, Tell GS, Shemanski L, Martel J, Chinchilli VM (1997). Dietary assessment using a picture-sort approach. Am J Clin Nutr 65 (Suppl), 1123S–1129S.
Manders M, de Groot LCPMG, Blauw YH, van Hoekel-Prüst L, Bindels JG, Siebelink E et al. (2006). Effect of a nutrient enriched drink on dietary intake and nutritional status in institutionalized elderly. In: Manders M (ed). Nutritional Care in Old Age, the Effect of Supplementation on Nutritional Status and Performance: Wageningen: University, thesis.
Menotti A, Mulder I, Nissinen A, Giampaoli S, Feskens EJM, Kromhout D (2001). Prevalence of morbidity and multimorbidity in elderly male populations and their impact on 10-year all-cause mortality: the FINE study (Finland, Italy, Netherlands, Elderly). J Clin Epidemiol 54, 680–686.
Molag ML, de Vries JHM, Ocke MC, Dagnelie PC, van den Brandt PA, Jansen MC et al. (2007). Design characteristics of food frequency questionnaires in relation to their validity. Am J Epidemiol 166, 1468–1478.
Nes M, van Staveren WA, Zajkas G, Inelmen EM, Moreiras-Varela O (1991). Validity of the dietary history method in elderly subjects. Euronut SENECA investigators. Eur J Clin Nutr 45 (Suppl 3), 97–104.
Nijs KA, de Graaf C, Kok FJ, van Staveren WA (2006a). Effect of family style mealtimes on quality of life, physical performance, and body weight of nursing home residents: cluster randomised controlled trial. Br Med J 332, 1180–1184.
Nijs KA, de Graaf C, Siebelink E, Blauw YH, Vanneste V, Kok FJ et al. (2006b). Effect of family-style meals on energy intake and risk of malnutrition in Dutch nursing home residents: a randomized controlled trial. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 61, 935–942.
Quandt SA, Vitolins MZ, Smith SL, Tooze JA, Bell RA, Davis CC et al. (2007). Comparative validation of standard, picture-sort and meal-based food-frequency questionnaires adapted for an elderly population of low socio-economic status. Public Health Nutr 10, 524–532.
Schols JMGA, de Groot LC, van der Cammen TJM, Olde Rikkert MGM . Preventing and treating dehydration in the elderly during periods of illness and warm weather (in press).
Subar AF, Kipnis V, Troiano RP, Midthune D, Schoeller DA, Bingham S et al. (2003). Using intake biomarkers to evaluate the extent of dietary misreporting in a large sample of adults: the OPEN study. Am J Epidemiol 158, 1–13.
Tooze JA, Vitolins MZ, Smith SL, Arcury TA, Davis CC, Bell RA et al. (2007). High levels of low energy reporting on 24-hour recalls and three questionnaires in an elderly low-socioeconomic status population. J Nutr 137, 1286–1293.
van Staveren WA, de Groot LC, Haveman-Nies A (2002). The SENECA study: potentials and problems in relating diet to survival over 10 years. Public Health Nutr 5, 901–905.
van Staveren WA, De Groot LCPMG, Blauw YH, van der Wielen RPJ (1994). Assessing diets of elderly people: problems and approaches. Am J Clin Nutr 59 (Suppl), 221S–223S.
van Staveren WA, Ocké MC (2006). Estimation of dietary intake. In: Bowman BA, Russell RM (eds). Present Knowledge in Nutrition, vol. 2, ILSI: Washington DC. pp 795–807.
Verkleij-Hagoort AC, de Vries JH, Stegers MP, Lindemans J, Ursem NT, Steegers-Theunissen RP (2007). Validation of the assessment of folate and vitamin B12 intake in women of reproductive age: the method of triads. Eur J Clin Nutr 61, 610–615.
Visser M, De Groot LC, Deurenberg P, Van Staveren WA (1995). Validation of dietary history method in a group of elderly women using measurements of total energy expenditure. Br J Nutr 74, 775–785.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
de Vries, J., de Groot, L. & van Staveren, W. Dietary assessment in elderly people: experiences gained from studies in the Netherlands. Eur J Clin Nutr 63 (Suppl 1), S69–S74 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2008.68
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2008.68
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
The Effect of Food Odor Exposure on Appetite and Nutritional Intake of Older Adults with Dementia
The Journal of nutrition, health and aging (2022)
-
Adherence to the Mediterranean diet assessed by a novel dietary biomarker score and mortality in older adults: the InCHIANTI cohort study
BMC Medicine (2021)
-
Factors associated with infants’ and young children’s (6–23 months) dietary diversity in Pakistan: evidence from the demographic and health survey 2012–13
Nutrition Journal (2017)
-
Agreement between dietary intake of older adults and proxy respondents assessed by a food frequency questionnaire
The Journal of nutrition, health and aging (2017)
-
Considerations in selection of diet assessment methods for examining the effect of nutrition on cognition
The Journal of nutrition, health and aging (2015)