Effects of a Specialized Oral Nutritional Supplement with Dietary Counseling on Nutritional Outcomes in Community-Dwelling Older Adults at Risk of Malnutrition: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of oral nutritional supplements (ONSs) along with dietary counseling (DC) in community-dwelling older adults at risk of malnutrition. In this randomized controlled trial, 196 older adults who were at risk of malnutrition, as identified by the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) were randomly assigned to receive ONSs twice daily with DC (intervention) or DC-only (control) for 60 days. Primary outcome was change in body weight from baseline to day 60. Nutritional status, energy, and macronutrient intakes were measured. A significant larger weight gain was observed in the intervention compared to the control from baseline to day 60 (1.50 ± 0.22 kg, p p p p = 0.0001). ONS supplementation combined with DC significantly improved body weight and nutritional outcomes in community-dwelling older adults at risk of malnutrition.

Keywords

• older adults
• malnutrition
• oral nutritional supplement
• beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB)
• community
• nutritional status