HDHL MICA:Innovative plant protein fibre and physical activity solutions to address poor appetite and prevent undernutrition in older adults, APPETITE

背景：食欲不佳通常由老年人报告，并被认为预示着较差的健康结果，如虚弱、残疾和死亡率。同时，摄入微量营养素含量低的食物(如脂肪、油、糖果和苏打水)可能会更多。因此，食欲不振的老年人营养不良的风险更高。目的：食欲是一个由来自六个欧洲国家的八个机构的经验丰富的研究人员组成的跨学科联盟。该联盟的主要目标是制定办法，促进食欲不佳的社区老年人的蛋白质和纤维消费，通过有针对性的营养和体育活动来克服营养不良问题。这项合作研究将涉及与老年消费者合作开发创新的食品产品，测试这些产品并评估其应用。工作计划：计划的研究基于一系列相互关联的工作包。首先，我们将与一群食欲不佳的老年人合作，找出是什么影响了他们的食欲，以及他们可能使用的方法和策略，以确保他们吃足够的食物。我们还将分析阿姆斯特丹纵向老龄化研究的数据，在该研究中，对一大批老年人的食欲和饮食进行了评估，以更好地了解食欲不佳的决定因素，它如何随着时间的推移而变化，以及这些变化对饮食的影响。在这些见解的基础上，研究的第二部分是为食欲不佳的老年人设计新的、负担得起的食品，使用不同的植物蛋白纤维组合。重点将放在结合不同植物蛋白质来源(如玉米、谷物、豆类)的食物上，以实现具有诱人感官特性的氨基酸(蛋白质的组成部分)的平衡。计划研究的第三部分将评估这些新食品，例如，检查对消化率、氨基酸生物利用率和全身蛋白质代谢的影响。然后，这些新食品中的两种将在研究的第四部分进行测试，在一组胃口不佳的老年人中进行多国随机控制干预试验，作为个性化优化饮食、体力活动计划及其组合的一部分。将确定对食欲、饮食摄入量、营养状况、代谢和生理功能的影响。它将创造关于这些产品的新知识，以及全饮食方法、身体活动和定期社交如何有助于克服食欲低下和营养不良。这些发现将为政策、饮食建议和指南提供参考，加强欧洲农业食品行业，为提高欧洲老年人的生活质量做出贡献。

Background: Poor appetite is commonly reported by older adults, and is known to predict poorer health outcomes, such as frailty, disability and mortality. It impacts both on the amount of food eaten and on the diversity of the diet so that older adults with a poor appetite can have lower consumption of some nutrient-rich types of foods (eg meat, fish, whole grains, vegetables) and reduced intakes of a range of nutrients, that include protein and dietary fibre. At the same time, consumption of foods low in micronutrients (eg fats, oils, sweets, and sodas) may be higher. Older adults with poor appetite are therefore at a higher risk of undernutrition.Objectives: APPETITE is a transdisciplinary consortium of experienced researchers from eight institutions in six European countries. The key objective of the consortium is to develop approaches to promote protein and fibre consumption in community-dwelling older adults who have poor appetite, to overcome undernutrition through targeted nutrition and physical activity. This collaborative research will involve the development of innovative food products, in cooperation with older consumers, testing these products and evaluation of their application.Workplan: The planned research is based on a series of linked work packages. Firstly, we will work with a group of older adults who have poor appetite to find out what influences their appetite and the approaches and strategies they may use to make sure they eat enough food. We will also analyse data from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam in which appetite and diet have been assessed in a large group of older adults to develop better understanding of the determinants of poor appetite, how it changes over time, and the impact of these changes on diet. Building on these insights, the second part of the research is to design new and affordable food products for older adults who have poor appetite, with different plant protein fibre combinations. The focus will be on foods that combine different plant protein sources (eg corn, grain, legumes), to achieve a balanced profile of amino acids (the building blocks of protein), that have attractive sensory properties. The third part of the planned research will be to evaluate these new foods, for example, to examine effects on digestibility, amino acid bioavailability and whole body protein metabolism. Two of these new food products will then be tested in the fourth part of the research in a multi-country randomized controlled intervention trial in a group of older adults with poor appetite, as part of a personalised optimized diet, a physical activity program, and their combination. Effects on appetite, dietary intake, nutritional status, metabolic and physiological function will be determined. The project findings will be disseminated widely through a range of different activities, to provide information and raise awareness, to share knowledge and promote dialogue between older consumers, scientists, the food industry and policy makers.Impact: APPETITE will improve our understanding of plant-based protein and fibre products and their metabolic and clinical effects. It will create new knowledge about these products, and how a whole-diet approach, together with physical activity and regular social contacts, may contribute to overcome poor appetite and undernutrition. The findings will inform policy and dietary recommendations and guidelines, strengthen European agri-food industry, contributing to a better quality of life for older Europeans.