School of Food Science, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA.
Department of Food Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
Food Res Int. 2022 Jul;157:111353. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2022.111353. Epub 2022 May 11.
The population of older adults is rapidly growing, and undernutrition remains a concern. Properly formulated ready to eat (RTE) meals can provide older adults with convenient, nutritious meals that require minimal preparation. The study objective of this work was to uncover which properties and components of RTE meals were most important to older adults. 285 participants (mean age = 68.3 years) from Canada (n = 167) and the United States (n = 118) completed a two-part online survey. First, demographic information, including oral health survey and medication history was gathered. Rating-based conjoint analysis was then employed to identify RTE meal preferences. Meal ideas (n = 24) were created via a half-factorial design comprised of four concepts: taste theme (Asian, Latin, Mediterranean), protein source (chicken, fish, alternative protein, egg), spice (presence/absence), and fiber source (grains/vegetables). Participants indicated their expected liking and purchase intent of each meal idea. Results from the oral health survey found significant correlations between age and medication intake (R = 0.219, p = 0.0002), and frequencies of loss of taste and loss of smell (R = 0.800, p < 0.0001). Regarding meal components, protein source had the greatest importance to the total population (relative importance = 51.5%) with chicken having the greatest positive influence on liking (utility value = 0.31). A greater preference for the Mediterranean taste theme was observed in the Canadian respondents (p = 0.0002). Segmentation of the full dataset revealed four clusters based on relative importance of meal components. Cluster 1 (n = 25) contained participants preferring the presence of chicken and not fish, Cluster 2 (n = 190) was positively affected by the inclusion of chicken and fish, Cluster 3 (n = 42) contained individuals negatively affected by the presence of spice, and Cluster 4 (n = 23) contained individuals who preferred vegetarian options. In future research, meals that contain chicken or are vegetarian-friendly will be pursued.
老年人人口增长迅速，营养不良仍然是一个问题。配方合理的即食（RTE）餐可以为老年人提供方便、营养的餐食，且准备工作最少。这项工作的研究目的是揭示 RTE 餐的哪些特性和成分对老年人最重要。来自加拿大（n=167）和美国（n=118）的 285 名参与者（平均年龄 68.3 岁）完成了一项两部分的在线调查。首先，收集了人口统计信息，包括口腔健康调查和用药史。然后采用基于评分的联合分析来确定 RTE 餐的偏好。通过由四个概念组成的半因子设计创建了餐食创意（n=24）：口味主题（亚洲、拉丁、地中海）、蛋白质来源（鸡肉、鱼、替代蛋白质、鸡蛋）、香料（存在/不存在）和纤维来源（谷物/蔬菜）。参与者表示了对每种餐食创意的预期喜爱程度和购买意向。口腔健康调查结果发现，年龄和用药量之间存在显著相关性（R=0.219，p=0.0002），以及味觉丧失和嗅觉丧失的频率之间存在显著相关性（R=0.800，p<0.0001）。关于餐食成分，蛋白质来源对总人口最重要（相对重要性=51.5%），鸡肉对喜爱程度的积极影响最大（效用值=0.31）。在加拿大受访者中观察到对地中海口味主题的偏好更大（p=0.0002）。根据餐食成分的相对重要性，对整个数据集进行细分揭示了四个聚类。聚类 1（n=25）包含喜欢鸡肉而不喜欢鱼的参与者，聚类 2（n=190）受到包含鸡肉和鱼的积极影响，聚类 3（n=42）包含受香料存在负面影响的个体，聚类 4（n=23）包含喜欢素食选择的个体。在未来的研究中，将寻求包含鸡肉或对素食友好的餐食。
