The study on development of easily chewable and swallowable foods for elderly

BACKGROUND/OBJECTS When the functions involved in the ingestion of food occurs failure, not only loss of enjoyment of eating, it will be faced with protein-energy malnutrition. Dysmasesis and difficulty of swallowing occurs in various diseases, but it may be a major cause of aging, and elderly people with authoring and dysmasesis and difficulty of swallowing in the aging society is expected to increase rapidly. SUBJECTS/METHODS In this study, we carried out a survey targeting nutritionists who work in elderly care facilities, and examined characteristics of offering of foods for elderly and the degree of demand of development of easily chewable and swallowable foods for the elderly who can crush foods and take that by their own tongues, and sometimes have difficulty in drinking water and tea. RESULTS In elderly care facilities, it was found to provide a finely chopped food or ground food that was ground with water in a blender for elderly with dysmasesis. Elderly satisfaction of provided foods is appeared overall low. Results of investigating the applicability of foods for elderly and the reflection will of menus, were showed the highest response rate in a gelification method in molecular gastronomic science technics, and results of investigating the frequent food of the elderly; representative menu of beef, pork, white fish, anchovies and spinach, were showed Korean barbecue beef, hot pepper paste stir fried pork, pan fried white fish, stir fried anchovy, seasoned spinach were the highest offer frequency. CONCLUSIONS This study will provide the fundamentals of the development of easily chewable and swallowable foods, gelification, for the elderly. The study will also illustrate that, in the elderly, food undergone gelification will reduce the risk of swallowing down to the wrong pipe and improve overall food preference.