title: Food preferences of older adults in senior nutrition programs.
abstract: The Elderly Nutrition Program (ENP) is being challenged to improve the quality of meal programs. The purpose of this study was to explore how food preferences varied depending on gender and ethnic groups. A total of 2,024 participants in the ENP aged 60 years or older were interviewed. A majority of the participants were female (74.7%), served by congregate meal programs (71.7%), with the mean ± SD age of 76.9 ± 9.2 years. A general impression of the meals and preferences for 13 food groups (fresh fruit, chicken, soup, salad, vegetables, potatoes, meat, sandwiches, pasta, canned fruit, legumes, deli meats, and ethnic foods) were assessed. After adjusting other variables, older males were significantly more likely to prefer deli meats, meat, legumes, canned fruit, and ethnic foods compared to females. In addition, compared with African Americans, Caucasians demonstrated higher percentages of preference for 9 of 13 food groups including pasta, meat, and fresh fruit. To improve the quality of the ENP, and to increase dietary compliance of the older adults to the programs, the nutritional services require a strategic meal plan that solicits and incorporates older adults' food preferences.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Nutrition and Food Science , College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Maryland , College Park , Maryland , USA.
authors.forename: Hee-Jung
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Judy R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: Dhruti U
authors.initials: DU
authors.lastname: Patel
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D005260:Female; D063105:Food Assistance; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000208:ethnology; D006293:Health Promotion; D006299:Health Services for the Aged; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008396:Maryland; D008875:Middle Aged; D018673:Nutrition Policy; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D010349:Patient Compliance; D064407:Senior Centers; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D044465:White People