journal articles
NUTRITION EDUCATION AND COOKING CLASSES IMPROVE DIET QUALITY, NUTRIENT INTAKE, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF HOME-DWELLING OLDER PEOPLE – A PILOT STUDY
S.K. Jyväkorpi, K.H. Pitkälä, H. Kautiainen, T.M. Puranen, M.L. Laakkonen, M.H. Suominen
J Aging Res Clin Practice 2014;3(2):120-124
Objective: To determine the impact of nutritional education combined with cooking classes on older people’s nutrition and psychological well-being (PWB). Design: Intervention study using pre- and post-test comparisons. Setting: Non-governmental organization’s cooking school facilities in Helsinki, Finland. Participants: 54 home-dwelling healthy older adults. Main Outcome Measure: Three-day food diaries, Index of Diet Quality (IDQ), and Psychological Well-Being scale (PWB) completed before and after the course were used to measure changes in overall diet quality, nutrient intake and, PWB. Analysis: Nutrient intake, IDQ, and PWB score were statistically compared using pre- and posttest analyzes with t-test paired bootstrap test. Results: Mean age of the participants was 69 years, and 90% were females. At baseline, 28 % had a diet with poor nutritional quality and 7% were at risk of malnutrition according to Mini-Nutritional Assessment. Participants improved IDQ (p=.013), vitamin C (p=.019) and fiber (p=.027) intakes, and PWB (p=.02). Effect sizes varied from small to moderate. Conclusions: Nutrition education and guidance combined with cooking classes may improve older adults’ diet quality, nutrient intake, and PWB. New innovative practices are needed to train older people about nutrition and to socially activate them to prevent future nutritional problems.
CITATION:
S.K. Jyväkorpi ; K.H. Pitkälä ; H. Kautiainen ; T.M. Puranen ; M.L. Laakkonen ; M.H. Suominen (2014): NUTRITION EDUCATION AND COOKING CLASSES IMPROVE DIET QUALITY, NUTRIENT INTAKE, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF HOME-DWELLING OLDER PEOPLE – A PILOT STUDY . The Journal of Aging Research and Clinical Practice (JARCP). http://dx.doi.org/10.14283/jarcp.2014.22