Nutritional telemonitoring for community-dwelling older adults. Feasibility and effectiveness

Summary

Undernutrition among community-dwelling older adults is a common, but under recognized problem. Eleven to 35 % of Dutch community-dwelling older adults is undernourished. Undernutrition leads to unfavorable consequences for health and quality of life. Preventing undernutrition is therefore essential for healthy aging. In this research the feasibility and effectiveness of a nutritional telemonitoring intervention for community-dwelling older adults was studied. Participants performed self-measurements of body weight, diet quality and nutritional status. They
also received tips and advices to eat healthy and have sufficient levels of
physical activity. Nurses received the results of these self-measurements and provided additional nutritional advice if necessary, or referred to a
dietician. We observed that participants in the intervention group improved their diet quality and physical activity levels. Participants with risk of undernutrition improved their nutritional status. We did not observe effects on physical functioning and quality of life. More research is necessary to which target population benefits most from this type of intervention, how effects can be maximized and to assess cost-effectiveness.