title: Understanding the gastrointestinal tract of the elderly to develop dietary solutions that prevent malnutrition.
abstract: Although the prevalence of malnutrition in the old age is increasing worldwide a synthetic understanding of the impact of aging on the intake, digestion, and absorption of nutrients is still lacking. This review article aims at filling the gap in knowledge between the functional decline of the aging gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and the consequences of malnutrition on the health status of elderly. Changes in the aging GIT include the mechanical disintegration of food, gastrointestinal motor function, food transit, chemical food digestion, and functionality of the intestinal wall. These alterations progressively decrease the ability of the GIT to provide the aging organism with adequate levels of nutrients, what contributes to the development of malnutrition. Malnutrition, in turn, increases the risks for the development of a range of pathologies associated with most organ systems, in particular the nervous-, muscoskeletal-, cardiovascular-, immune-, and skin systems. In addition to psychological, economics, and societal factors, dietary solutions preventing malnutrition should thus propose dietary guidelines and food products that integrate knowledge on the functionality of the aging GIT and the nutritional status of the elderly. Achieving this goal will request the identification, validation, and correlative analysis of biomarkers of food intake, nutrient bioavailability, and malnutrition.
authors.affiliation: UMR 1019, UNH, CRNH Auvergne, INRA, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.|Clermont Université, Université d'Auvergne, Unité de Nutrition Humaine, BP 10448, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rémond
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, The S. Daniel Abraham International Center for Health and Nutrition, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 84105 Beer-Sheva, Israel.
authors.forename: Danit R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Shahar
authors.affiliation: Institute for Food Sciences IFS, Agroscope, Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research EAER, 3003 Berne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Doreen
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gille
authors.affiliation: Escola Superior Agrária, Insituto Politécnico de Santarém, 2001-904 Santarem, Portugal.|Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal.
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.affiliation: Israeli Ministry of Health, 93591 Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Josefa
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kachal
authors.affiliation: UMR 1019, UNH, CRNH Auvergne, INRA, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.|Clermont Université, Université d'Auvergne, Unité de Nutrition Humaine, BP 10448, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
authors.forename: Marie-Agnès
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Peyron
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal.|Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal.
authors.forename: Claudia Nunes
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Dos Santos
authors.affiliation: Institute for Food Sciences IFS, Agroscope, Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research EAER, 3003 Berne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Walther
authors.affiliation: Department of Agri-Food Sciences and Technologies, University of Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bordoni
authors.affiliation: UMR 1253, Science et Technologie du Lait & de l'Œuf, INRA, 35000 Rennes, France.
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dupont
authors.affiliation: ainia Centro Tecnológico, E46980 Paterna (Valencia), Spain.
authors.forename: Lidia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tomás-Cobos
authors.affiliation: Institute for Food Sciences IFS, Agroscope, Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research EAER, 3003 Berne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vergères
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008875:Middle Aged
keywords: Gerotarget; aging; dietary solutions; gastrointestinal tract; malnutrition