The rare intensive dietary study included input from Fonterra, University of Melbourne, Austin Health and other international research organisations, involved 60 aged care facilities in Australia and totalled 7195 residents with a mean age of 86 years.
A groundbreaking study on rest home residents’ diets holds answers to helping reduce one of the biggest killers of aged people in New Zealand and Australia.
The research project spanned two years and examined the impact the addition of increased dairy products into residents’ diets could have on bone density and hip fracture prevention.
The results have been published in the British Medical Journal and hold implications for elderly care throughout Australasia.
The rare intensive dietary study included input from Fonterra, University of Melbourne, Austin Health and other international research organisations, involved 60 aged care facilities in Australia and totalled 7195 residents with a mean age of 86 years.
Of these, 30 care centres were randomised with residents receiving an additional 1.5 serves of dairy a day to total 3.5 daily serves, compared to the two serves or less the control residents received in their normal diets.
Fonterra senior research scientist for nutrition Dr Caroline Gunn says hip fractures are among the most expensive and prolific injuries affecting care residents. The Australian-NZ Fracture Registry records in 2018 show over 25,000 falls were reported across both countries, costing $1 billion a year.
In recovery, the statistics are grim for victims’ long-term futures.
Ten percent of those fracturing their hip die within 120 days of doing so, a quarter within a year, and 80% will be dead within four years.
University of Melbourne nutrition researcher Dr Sandra Luliano says there were significant discrepancies in what elderly people were supposed to receive in their diets, and what they got.
Men and women were supposed to receive four and three servings a day respectively of dairy, but in aged care that averaged only a quarter of what it should be, while servings of sugar dense cakes and “discretionary” foods were well above the recommended two serves a day.
“So, the question was ‘how can we change the food consumption pattern to favour improved food health and reduce fall risk?’” Luliano said.
Dairy products were added into diets in the form of cheese snacks, fortified milk and white sauces at dinner times instead of gravy.
Daily dietary protein input lifted by at least 50%, and calcium a similar amount.
The resulting fracture data after two years revealed a 33% reduction in all fractures in those receiving extra dairy compared to the control group and a 46% reduction in hip fractures.
On average, 62% of all residents of the control group fell over during the study period, while the supplemented group experienced 11% less falls.
“As a group, the supplemented residents experienced the same life expectancy, but fewer falls,” she said.
Fonterra put in a million dollars’ worth of dairy products into the study, including cheddar and parmesan cheese, yoghurt and skim milk powder.
The supplemented residents also exhibited less loss of lean muscle mass, allowing greater stability and control, helping also improve mobility confidence.
She acknowledged the difficulty in getting studies of this nature done, with cost often a factor and sourcing funding was a challenge.
“It was a labour of love and a very collaborative approach to getting the money,” she said.
The scientists emphasised the dietary changes focused on providing the additional protein and calcium in the form of conventional dairy, rather than supplement-type products.
“It is about going back to food. They would not need the supplement if they are getting the right daily food. The supplement has a purpose, usually if they have been hospitalised and need to regain weight,” she said.
Luliano says the data gives researchers a voice to push for improvements in elderly diets and suspected a lack of dairy in diets had been due to cost factors.
“But you have to look at the total cost. By providing extra dairy at less than a dollar a day per resident, it changes their clinical outcomes,” she said.
