Related Experiment Videos
Longitudinal changes in the intake of energy and macronutrients of elderly Europeans. SENECA Investigators
O Moreiras1, W A van Staveren, J A Amorim Cruz
1Ciudad Universitaria, Facultad de Farmacia, Madrid, Spain.
Objective:
To assess longitudinal changes in intakes of energy and macronutrients in elderly Europeans.
Design:
Longitudinal study including a dietary assessment in 1988/1989, which was repeated in 1993.
Setting:
Serial data were collected in nine European towns: Belgium: Hamme (H/B); Denmark: Roskilde (R/DK); France: Haguenau (H/F) and Romans (R/F); Italy: Padua (P/I); the Netherlands: Culemborg (C/NL); Portugal: Vila Franca de Xira (V/P); Spain: Betanzos (B/E) and Switzerland: Yverdon (Y/CH). In other centres dietary intake data were collected in 1993 only: Portugal: Coimbra (C/P); Poland: Marki (M/PL); Northern Ireland: Ballymoney-Limavady-Portstewart (BLP/NI/UK) and United States: Mansfield (Connecticut) (M/CT/USA).
Subjects And Methods:
Using standardized methodologies, data were collected from a random stratified sample of elderly men and women born between 1913 and 1918. In 1993 dietary intake data were collected from 1125 subjects by a modified validated dietary history method.
Results:
Over the 4-year study period, a decline in mean energy intake of one MJ or less per day was observed in most towns, which was significant (P < 0.01) in only four of the towns. The within- and between-centre variation of change was large. Overall, a slight decline was reported for all macronutrients and with the exception of protein, large within and between centre variations were observed in both men and women.
Conclusion:
Intake of energy and macronutrients was found to decline with age. This may be of special concern for small eaters.