Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “NUTRITION”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Total parenteral nutrition for the treatment of severe hyperemesis gravidarum: maternal nutritional effects and fetal outcome.

Hyperemesis gravidarum is a complication of pregnancy that can lead to severe maternal nutritional deprivation. Total parenteral nutrition has been used in pregnancy complicated by hyperemesis gravidarum. However, little has been done to study the nutritional aspects of hyperemesis or the maternal effects of total parenteral nutrition when given during the first trimester of pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to examine the nutritional state of pregnancy complicated by hyperemesis gravidarum and the effects of total parenteral nutrition on maternal nutrition and fetal outcome when given during the first trimester of pregnancy. Using a standard method of indirect calorimetry, the basal metabolic expenditure and adjusted metabolic expenditure were determined, and appropriate calories were calculated for each patient. The patients were then started on total parenteral nutrition. Follow-up indirect calorimetry studies showed improved nutritional status, with return of anabolic parameters. The results of this study support the conclusion that total parenteral nutrition given during the first trimester is a safe and effective method of nutritional support.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed1989

Guidelines for nutrition support in AIDS. Task Force on Nutrition Support in AIDS.

The nutritional status of people with AIDS is challenged throughout the progression of the illness by the manifestation of symptoms such as malabsorption, diarrhea, candidiasis, and fever. As yet, there is no widely accepted method for nutritional management of AIDS. Therefore, a Task Force on Nutrition Support in AIDS was formed to develop practical recommendations for those involved in the management of this patient population. The "Guidelines for Nutrition Support in AIDS" are aimed at improving nutritional status, alleviating symptoms, and enhancing quality of life at each stage of the disease. The Task Force concluded that optimizing the nutritional status of people with AIDS, through aggressive nutritional therapy, is essential in overall medical management; nutrition intervention and education is indicated as early in the disease progression as HIV diagnosis; thorough nutritional assessment and regular monitoring is advocated; and enteral feedings should be considered the first line of nutrition support therapy.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed2000

Nutritional status of mechanically ventilated critically ill patients: comparison of different types of nutritional support.

Malnutrition is a common problem in hospitalized patients. Early assessment of nutritional status may help in identifying patients for whom nutritional interventions are needed. The purpose of this study was to assess and compare the nutritional status of mechanically ventilated critically ill patients who were receiving nutritional support. Forty-nine patients were divided into either enteral nutrition, total parenteral nutrition or combined (enteral plus total parenteral nutrition) groups. Anthropometric and biochemical measurements, and medical status (APACHE II score) were assessed at the 1st day and 14th day of admission in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Taichung Veteran General Hospital. The length of ventilator dependency was significantly positively correlated with calorie and carbohydrate intake in the pooled group. Patients receiving enteral and combined nutrition showed significantly lower anthropometric measurements at the 14th day after admission. Patients in all groups had abnormal mean biochemical values at the 1st day of admission. Subjects in the combined group showed a significant increase in prealbumin and the Maastricht Index levels after 14 days. Patients in all three groups were malnourished when admitted to the ICU. Patients showed a slightly improvement of nutritional status after receiving nutritional support for 14 days.

APACHE↗
PubMed2001

Early postoperative enteral nutrition improves gut oxygenation and reduces costs compared with total parenteral nutrition.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the potential clinical, metabolic, and economic advantages of enteral nutrition over total parenteral nutrition. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized clinical trial. SETTING: Department of surgery in a university hospital. PATIENTS: Two hundred and fifty-seven patients with cancer of the stomach (n = 121), pancreas (n = 110), or esophagus (n = 26) were randomized to receive postoperative total parenteral nutrition (TPN group, n = 131) or early enteral nutrition (EEN group, n = 126). The nutritional goal was 25 kcal/kg/day. The two nutritional formulas were isocaloric and isonitrogenous, and they were continued until oral intake was at least 800 kcal/day. MEASUREMENTS: Morbidity, mortality, length of hospital stay, and treatment costs were evaluated in all patients. In 40 consecutive patients, selected nutritional, immunologic and inflammatory variables were studied. Moreover, intestinal oxygen tension was evaluated by micropolarographic implantable probes. MAIN RESULTS: The nutritional goal was reached in 100/126 (79.3%) patients in the EEN group and in 128/131 (97.7%) patients in the TPN group (p <.001). In the EEN group, hyperglycemia (serum glucose, >200 mg/dL) was observed in 4.7% of the patients vs. 9.1% in the TPN group (p = NS). Alteration of serum electrolyte levels was 3.9% in the EEN group vs. 13.7% in the TPN group (p <.01). No significant difference was found in nutritional, immunologic, and inflammatory variables between the two groups. The overall complication rate was similar (40.4% for TPN vs. 35.7%, for EEN; p =.52). No difference was detected for either infectious or noninfectious complications, length of hospital stay, and mortality. From postoperative day 5, intestinal oxygen tension recovered faster in the EEN group than in the TPN group (43 +/- 5 mm Hg vs. 31 +/- 4 mm Hg at day 7; p <.001). EEN was four-fold less expensive than TPN ($25 vs. $90.60/day, respectively). CONCLUSION: EEN represents a rational alternative to TPN in patients who undergo upper gastrointestinal tract surgery for cancer and who clinically require postoperative artificial nutrition.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Relationships between nutritional markers and the mini-nutritional assessment in 155 older persons.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationships between nutritional status measured by a comprehensive nutritional assessment including anthropometric measurements, nutritional biological markers, evaluation of dietary intake, and the Mini-Nutritional Assessment (MNA) nutrition screening tool. DESIGN: A prospective study. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred fifty-five older subjects (53 men and 102 women; mean age = 78 years; range = 56-97 years). These participants were hospitalized in a geriatric evaluation unit (n = 105) or free living in the community (n = 50). MEASUREMENT: Weight, height, knee height, midarm and calf circumferences, triceps and subscapular skinfolds, albumin, transthyretin (prealbumin), transferrin, ceruloplasmin, C-reactive protein, alpha1-acid glycoprotein, cholesterol, vitamins A, D, E, B1, B2, B6, B12, folate, copper, zinc, a 3 day food record combined with a food-frequency questionnaire; the MNA nutritional screening. RESULTS: The MNA scores have been found to be significantly correlated to nutritional intake (P < .05 for energy, carbohydrates, fiber, calcium, vitamin D, iron, vitamin B6, and vitamin C), anthropometric and biological nutritional parameters (P < .001 for albumin, transthyretin, transferrin, cholesterol, retinol, alpha-tocopherol, 25-OH cholecalciferol zinc). An MNA score between 17 and 23.5 can identify those persons with mild malnutrition in which nutrition intervention may be effective. CONCLUSIONS: The MNA is a practical, noninvasive, and cost-effective instrument allowing for rapid nutritional evaluation and effective intervention in frail older persons.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Evaluation of forest nutrition based on large-scale foliar surveys: are nutrition profiles the way of the future?

This paper introduces the use of nutrition profiles as a first step in the development of a concept that is suitable for evaluating forest nutrition on the basis of large-scale foliar surveys. Nutrition profiles of a tree or stand were defined as the nutrient status, which accounts for all element concentrations, contents and interactions between two or more elements. Therefore a nutrition profile overcomes the shortcomings associated with the commonly used concepts for evaluating forest nutrition. Nutrition profiles can be calculated by means of a neural network, i.e. a self-organizing map, and an agglomerative clustering algorithm with pruning. As an example, nutrition profiles were calculated to describe the temporal variation in the mineral composition of Scots pine and Norway spruce needles in Finland between 1987 and 2000. The temporal trends in the frequency distribution of the nutrition profiles of Scots pine indicated that, between 1987 and 2000, the N, S, P, K, Ca, Mg and Al decreased, whereas the needle mass (NM) increased or remained unchanged. As there were no temporal trends in the frequency distribution of the nutrition profiles of Norway spruce, the mineral composition of the needles of Norway spruce needles subsequently did not change. Interpretation of the (lack of) temporal trends was outside the scope of this example. However, nutrition profiles prove to be a new and better concept for the evaluation of the mineral composition of large-scale surveys only when a biological interpretation of the nutrition profiles can be provided.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1997

Use of dietetic-specific nutritional diagnostic codes in clinical reasoning relevant to the nutritional management of core clinical outcome indicators in hemodialysis patients.

The Health Care Financing Agency (HCFA) has recommended conscientious monitoring of four core outcome indicators (anemia, albumin, treatment adequacy, and hypertension) by the end stage renal disease (ESRD) health care team. Dietetic-specific nutritional diagnostic categories (D-S NDCs) can be a powerful tool in guiding renal nutrition specialists through the clinical reasoning required to diagnose and clinically correct nutrition-related problems in hemodialysis (HD) patients. The purpose of this article is to portray one clinician's dual use of D-S NDCs to identify the nutritional problem responsible for poor performance and determine nutritionally treatable causes. Although four indicator-specific sets of D-S NDCs commonly used in the nutritional assessment of anemia, albumin, treatment adequacy and hypertension were identified and referenced, seven codes were consistently repeated. These D-S NDCs were (1) altered nutritional biochemistry integrity; (2) absence of/limited nutritional service; (3) deficit in nutrition knowledge; (4) imbalance of nutrient/fluid; (5) nutrition misinformation; (6) toxicity of nutrient/nutrient end-product; and (7) possibility of developing a specific disease. Thus, in ESRD, use of D-S NDCs shows the implicit role of the registered dietitian in disease prevention, management of altered nutrient disposition, and patient education.

Dietetics↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Is nutritional depletion by Nutritional Risk Index associated with increased length of hospital stay? A population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition is common at hospital admission and tends to worsen during hospitalization. This controlled population study aimed to determine if serum albumin or moderate and severe nutritional depletion by Nutritional Risk Index (NRI) at hospital admission are associated with increased length of hospital stay (LOS) (and increased hospital cost) in patients admitted to hospitals in 2 European countries. METHODS: Serum albumin levels and recent weight loss were prospectively determined at hospital admission in Geneva (n = 652) and Berlin (n = 621). Patients were classified as no, mild, moderate or severe risk by NRI. Multiple logistic regressions were used to determine the association between albumin and nutritional risk category and LOS. RESULTS: Patients (24%) were at moderate or severe nutritional risk by NRI. Nutritional risk by NRI, adjusted for age, was associated with LOS of 11 days (moderate: odds ratio [OR] 1.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.4 to 2.7, p < .005; severe: OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.6 to 5.3, p < .005). Serum albumin was also significantly associated with increased LOS (p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of nutritional depletion assessed by NRI and albumin was increased with longer LOS. Albumin alone underestimated nutritional risk. Severe nutritional depletion by NRI was significantly associated with LOS > or = 11 days in Geneva and Berlin patients. Nutrition screening should take place at hospital admission to determine nutritional risk and risk for longer LOS.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Staffing patterns in hospital clinical dietetics and nutrition support: a survey conducted by the Dietitians in Nutrition Support dietetic practice group.

The Dietitians in Nutrition Support dietetic practice group of The American Dietetic Association administered a questionnaire to evaluate changes in nutrition support services provided to hospitalized patients and home patients in 1989 and compared the results with results of a survey administered in 1986. The 1986 survey documented an increase in tube feeding to inpatients during 1984 to 1986 and greater dietitian staffing in tertiary care hospitals than in primary care hospitals and in larger hospitals in 1986. The 1989 questionnaire was mailed to clinical nutrition managers from a nationwide random sample of 1,000 hospitals from American Hospital Association members; 271 responses were received. Full-time equivalent (FTE) registered dietitians (RDs)--including clinical RDs, nutrition support service RDs, and clinical nutrition managers--decreased 11% from 1986 to 1989. FTE dietetic technicians decreased 22%. The number of FTE nutrition support service RDs and clinical nutrition managers decreased significantly (P less than .05). The mean number of FTE clinical dietitians per 100 beds decreased from 1.4 to 1.0 from 1986 to 1989. These decreases in dietetics staffing occurred despite an overall increase in total hospital FTE staff of 2.9%. Reported daily provision of nutrition support modalities to inpatients was 3.5% for parenteral nutrition, 4.9% for enteral tube feeding, and 9.6% for oral supplements. Decreased dietetics staffing was accompanied by other factors that negatively affect productivity (and therefore ability to provide adequate patient care), including inadequate delegation of technical tasks to dietetic technicians, limited availability of secretarial and computer support, and minimal provision of pocket pagers. These trends may be evidence of inadequacy of dietetics staffing to meet the needs of the US population for nutrition care.

Dietary Services↗
PubMed1996

Effect of nutritional support on routine nutrition assessment parameters and body composition in intensive care unit patients.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether routine nutrition assessment parameters and body composition change after nutritional support in intensive care unit (ICU) patients and whether the changes, if any, are related to cumulative energy and fluid balances. DESIGN: A prospective study. SETTING: A university teaching hospital. PATIENTS: Forty-five mechanically ventilated medical and surgical patients admitted to the ICU who received nutritional support for 7 days (group 1) and 9 patients of this group who received nutritional support for 3 weeks or longer (group 2). INTERVENTIONS: Enteral and parenteral nutritional support prescribed on the basis of metabolic cart measurements of energy expenditure. OUTCOME MEASURES: Routine nutrition assessment, including determinations of weight, serum albumin and prealbumin, and lymphocyte count and body composition, including measurements of body cell mass, extracellular fluid and body fat, determined from bioelectric impedance analysis. RESULTS: In group 1 patients, weight, albumin and prealbumin levels, and extracellular mass changed, but there was no change in lymphocyte count, body cell mass or body fat. Changes in weight and extracellular mass were slightly related to cumulative fluid balance; changes in albumin and prealbumin levels were not related to cumulative energy or fluid balance. The findings were similar for group 2 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Changes in routine nutrition assessment parameters and body composition are slightly affected by fluid balance but not by energy balance; thus, they are not specific indicators of the adequacy of nutritional support in ICU patients. Improved nutrition assessment parameters are required to better monitor the response to nutritional support in critically ill patients.

Body Composition↗
PubMed1997

Enteral nutrition is superior to parenteral nutrition in severe acute pancreatitis: results of a randomized prospective trial.

BACKGROUND: Parenteral nutrition is well established for providing nutritional support in acute pancreatitis while avoiding pancreatic stimulation. However, it is associated with complications and high cost. Benefits of enteral feeding in other disease states prompted a comparison of early enteral feeding with total parenteral nutrition in this clinical setting. METHODS: Thirty-eight patients with acute severe pancreatitis were randomized into two groups. The first (n = 18) received enteral nutrition through a nasoenteric tube with a semi-elemental diet, while the second group (n = 20) received parenteral nutrition through a central venous catheter. Safety was assessed by clinical course of disease, laboratory findings and incidence of complications. Efficacy was determined by nitrogen balance. The cost of nutritional support was calculated. RESULTS: Enteral feeding was well tolerated without adverse effects on the course of the disease. Patients who received enteral feeding experienced fewer total complications (P < 0.05) and were at lower risk of developing septic complications (P < 0.01) than those receiving parenteral nutrition. The cost of nutritional support was three times higher in patients who received parenteral nutrition. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that early enteral nutrition should be used preferentially in patients with severe acute pancreatitis.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2000

Provision of nutrition counseling, referrals to registered dietitians, and sources of nutrition information among practicing chiropractors in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate US chiropractors' provision of nutrition counseling and referrals to registered dietitians and sources of nutrition information. Chiropractors' perceptions of the minimum educational requirement for registered dietitians and nutrition training received in chiropractic school were also examined. DESIGN: A descriptive study was conducted by use of a nationwide, mailed survey. SUBJECTS/SETTING: Surveys were sent to 1,590 practicing chiropractors in the United States, selected randomly from The National Directory of Chiropractic. Of the 410 responses received, 375 were usable (response rate = 23.6%). STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Descriptive statistics were used to summarize data along with the Pearson chi 2 test and Kendall tc rank correlation to determine associations for categorical questions. RESULT: Nearly 90% of respondents provided nutrition counseling to their patients, even though the majority believed that they were inadequately trained in nutrition. One-on-one dietary instruction was the most common method of providing nutrition counseling, and supplement use was the most common health-related situation/condition for which nutrition counseling was used. Most respondents did not correctly select the minimum educational requirement for registered dietitians, did not refer patients to registered dietitians, and did not use registered dietitians as a source of nutrition information. Nevertheless, 65% of respondents anticipated increased collaborations between registered dietitians and chiropractors. APPLICATIONS/CONCLUSIONS: Chiropractors provide nutrition counseling to a large number of patients each year; thus, they have the potential to substantially affect patients' nutritional status. There is a clear need and opportunity for registered dietitians to collaborate with chiropractors.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Safety and tolerance of medical nutritional products as sole sources of nutrition in people on hemodialysis.

OBJECTIVE: Establish and compare the safety and tolerance of three medical nutritional products when used as sole sources of nutrition in stable hemodialysis patients. DESIGN: Prospectively randomized, controlled, single blind, parallel design. SETTING: Three outpatient hemodialysis clinics. PARTICIPANTS: Seventy-nine normally nourished, stable, anuric, adequately dialyzed, adult outpatients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and requiring thrice weekly hemodialysis. INTERVENTION: A 3-week trial was conducted. During the first week, baseline medical history and physical examination, gastrointestinal symptom, urea kinetic, bowel habit, and biochemical data were collected while participants ingested their usual diet. During the last 2 weeks, the same data were collected while participants orally ingested 35 kcal/kg actual weight/d of one of three medical nutritional products as a sole source of nutrition. Products were a standard medical nutritional (EN-9527) and two renal nutritionals (EN-9528 and EN-9529). The latter product was a reformulation of EN-9528 and contained added beta-carotene and fructooligosaccharides. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Gastrointestinal symptoms, bowel habits (stool frequency and consistency), routine blood chemistries, urea kinetics, and normalized protein catabolic rate (nPCR) RESULTS: All three groups achieved a mean energy and protein intake of approximately 35 kcal/kg/d and 1.25 g protein/kg/d during the last 10 days of the sole source feeding period. Adherence with the formula ingestion targets was assessed using both a patient-completed product consumption log and nPCR. By intent to treat analysis, there were no changes in number or severity of gastrointestinal symptoms, stool frequency or stool consistency, or urea kinetics between the baseline week and during product consumption. In comparison to the standard formulation, the disease-specific formulations resulted in improved serum phosphorus and calcium-phosphorus product. Patients receiving the fructooligosaccharide-containing product (EN-9529), by Chi-squared analysis, had less constipation than for the comparable product without oligosaccharides (EN-9528) or the standard medical nutritional (EN-9527). CONCLUSION: Use of enteral nutritionals as a sole source of nutrition is both possible and well tolerated in hemodialyzed patients. Selection of a disease-specific formulation offered advantages over a standard formulation in the management of biochemical complications of renal disease when the products were used as a sole source of nutrition.

Blood Urea Nitrogen↗
PubMed2001

Translation of nutritional sciences into medical education: the Nutrition Academic Award Program.

For the past 40 y the scientific community has decried the inadequacy of the training of physicians and other health professionals in the subject of human nutrition. In 1997 the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute developed the Nutrition Academic Award (NAA) Program, an initiative to improve nutrition training across a network of US medical schools. The purpose of this funding, which began in 1998, is to support the development and enhancement of nutrition curricula for medical students, residents, and practicing physicians to learn principles and practice skills in nutrition. The NAA recipients developed the Nutrition Curricular Guide for Training Physicians, a plan to incorporate clinical guidelines into physician practice skills, create educational and assessment practice tools, and evaluate curricula, materials, and teaching tools. Dissemination of NAA activities and materials will be facilitated by a national website, presentations and publications, and consultants and advisors from the NAA nutrition education programs. The NAA Program constitutes a major new effort to enhance nutrition knowledge and skills among health care providers and to effectively apply the science of human nutrition to clinical medicine. This article describes the purpose and aims of the NAA Program, the organizational structure of the network of recipients, a profile of the recipients and individual programs at 21 medical schools, the various strategies to overcome barriers in training physicians in human nutrition, and collaborative and dissemination efforts.

Awards and Prizes↗
PubMed1996

The effect of minimum luminal nutrition on bacterial translocation and atrophy of the jejunum during parenteral nutrition.

In situations of catabolic stress, the gut becomes atrophic and may have diminished barrier function as evidenced by an increase in bacterial translocation. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of minimum luminal nutrition during parenteral nutrition on the extent of jejunal atrophy and rate of bacterial translocation. Central venous lines were inserted into 30 rats before they underwent randomization to receive nutritional support with: (a) conventional parenteral nutrition; (b) conventional parenteral nutrition with 3 g/day of rat food (i.e., minimum luminal nutrition); or (c) rat food ad libitum. The rats were assessed after 10 days for nutritional status, extent of jejunal atrophy, caecal flora, as well as the extent of bacterial translocation to the mesenteric lymph nodes, liver and spleen. Rats in the rat food ad libitum group lost the smallest amount of weight and had the least amount of jejunal atrophy, yet had a similar rate of bacterial translocation as the parenterally nourished groups. When compared with the conventional parenteral nutrition group, the minimum luminal nutrition group had better preservation of the weight of the small bowel and its isolated mucosa (P < 0.01), but had a similar rate of bacterial translocation. Minimum luminal nutrition reduced the extent of atrophy of the gut but did not affect the incidence of bacterial translocation. It is inferred that there is no direct relationship between the extent of mucosal atrophy and incidence of bacterial translocation.

Animal Feed↗
PubMed2005

Aging in community nutrition, diet therapy, and nutrition and aging textbooks.

Using content analysis, this study evaluated the aging content and context in 11 nutrition sub-specialty textbooks: community nutrition (n = 3), diet therapy (n = 4), and nutrition and aging (n = 4). Pages with paragraphs on aging were identified in community nutrition and diet therapy textbooks, and 10% random samples of pages were evaluated in nutrition and aging textbooks. Paragraphs were assigned to one of four categories: gerontology, nutrition as primary, nutrition as secondary, or tertiary prevention. A total of 310 pages was qualitatively analyzed using NUD*IST 5 software and quantitatively with percentages. Only 7% of community nutrition and 2% of diet therapy pages were devoted to aging. There was little integration of aging beyond the chapters on aging. Community nutrition had the most gerontology (30%) and primary prevention (43%) content. Diet therapy and nutrition and aging had more secondary prevention (33% and 42%, respectively) and tertiary prevention (27% each) content. Some important databases and studies were absent. Of the 1,239 ageism words, 10% were positive, 53% neutral, and 36% negative. Photographs were generally positive. Women, but not minorities, reflected current older adult demographics. Future textbook editions should address aging more comprehensively and positively to better prepare dietitians for the job market. Recommendations for authors, course instructors, and publishers are given.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Barriers to nutrition education for older adults, and nutrition and aging training opportunities for educators, healthcare providers,volunteers and caregivers.

Literature citations of barriers to nutrition education found in those who teach and care for older adults, as well as within older adults themselves, are discussed. No attempt was made to compare educational barriers for learners of varying ages. These obstacles need to be addressed in order for nutrition to be taught or learned effectively so that nutrition practices and health improve. Barriers for healthcare professionals to providing nutrition education include misconceptions and stereotypes about older adults and about their nutritional concerns; lack of attention to and lack of funding for older adult educational programs; and difficulties recruiting older learners. Hindrances for older adults in responding to nutrition education can be categorized as attitudinal, motivational, environmental, and related to low literacy and poverty. Published examples of opportunities for education and training about nutrition and aging that are in place for health educators, healthcare providers, volunteers and caregivers regarding nutrition and aging are discussed. Suggestions are presented regarding future efforts to minimize educational barriers and to provide training for healthcare professionals, volunteers and caregivers. New research is needed in this field of study in order to realize the potential quality of life benefits and reduced healthcare costs associated with providing effective nutrition education to older adults. This is one of a series of reviews of recent literature on nutrition education for older adults.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1993

[Nutrition education or managing social communication for nutrition?].

Seven years ago Hygie published an article on the limits of conventional nutrition education in urban Africa. Strategies and methods in communication for nutrition have since evolved, incorporating results of international research to develop innovative, highly participative approaches. In this article the authors provide an extensive analysis of the different methodologies used in nutrition education programmes, in particular the KAB, social marketing, and community participation models, indicating main areas where each method used separately has failed. Members of the African Nutritional Education Network (RENA) have studied the above mentioned approaches, modifying them or integrating certain elements to adopt a more effective approach, which they consider somewhat as the management of social communication for nutrition education. Needs assessments and programme planning are largely enhanced by a causal analysis component specific to nutrition education in a community setting which has been developed by the authors. Other classic elements of programme implementation such as community participation, diversity of methods and intervention, are then combined with a multi-level/multi-actor evaluation processes to produce what the authors esteem to be a more effective nutrition education programme. They conclude, however, with the warning that although behavioural modifications brought about by nutrition communication and education might be beneficial for public health, they could have different, possibly adverse effects on other aspects of society. Effective nutrition education must therefore be included in a more extensive field of health promotion by acting on the multiple factors which influence the nutrition and health state of vulnerable groups.

Africa↗