Oral strategies to supplement older adults' dietary intakes: comparing the evidence

Abstract

Despite the current global obesity crisis, undernutrition remains prevalent among older adults worldwide. This review compares the efficacy of the main oral strategies used to increase older adults' energy and nutrient intakes, i.e., meal enhancement, multivitamin/multimineral supplementation and oral liquid nutrition supplements. Well-designed long-term investigations that are adequately powered to differentiate effects on nutritional, clinical, functional, and cost outcomes are much needed before scientific and clinical consensus can be reached on where and when to implement any strategy as the optimal choice for improving dietary intakes in a specific older adult population.