Premium
An Analysis of the Dietary Protein Intake of Hospitalized Elders
Author(s) -
Amonette William Emil,
PaddonJones Douglas
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.23.1_supplement.548.8
Subject(s) - meal , medicine , dietary protein , dietary reference intake , high protein , protein quality , muscle protein , food science , skeletal muscle , nutrient , biology , pathology , ecology
Age related skeletal muscle loss results in reduction of strength and functional capabilities. During hospitalization physical activity is restricted, muscle loss is accelerated, and dietary protein intake becomes increasingly important as it represents one of the few means of upregulating muscle protein synthesis. The purpose of this study was to quantify the protein intake of hospitalized elderly patients in the ACE unit of a university hospital. Hospital meal plan data were entered into a nutritional software program and analyzed for nutrient content. The proportion of a single representative meal consumed was recorded for thirteen patients (77.5 ± 1.8 yrs). The hospital lunch meal provided 41.7 ± 2.0g of protein. However, patients consumed only 34.6% of the protein provided (14.4 ± 3.1g). Ten of the 13 subjects consumed less than 20g of protein (0.19 ± 0.04g/kg). The primary reason for low protein intake was an inadequate consumption of the animal protein menu item. In 6 of the 13 subjects, more than 50% of the protein ingested was attributed to the dessert item. Despite encouragement from dietary and medical staff, actual consumption was less than one‐third of the RDA for protein. If protein intake cannot be increased via provision of high quality protein‐rich foods, complementary nutritional strategies (e.g. amino acid supplementation) should be considered.