Malnutrition, especially among the elderly in the healthcare environment, is a prevalent problem in The Netherlands, affecting both patients and the healthcare budget. Although oral nutritional supplements (ONS) are often used to restore the nutritional status of a patient, the evaluated current available literature failed to show a coherent picture of the effectiveness of ONS in malnourished patients. In the present study, we used a qualitative research approach to gain insight in the treatment of malnutrition via ONS and food snacks in a single non-academic teaching hospital. Twelve semi-structured interviews with stakeholders (such as dieticians, nurses, care-assistants, physician) were held. Results indicated opportunities for further improvement, for example through the introduction of a screening tool for malnutrition in cognitive impaired patients, better timing for handing out the daily meal plan forms, and improved range and provision of snacks. The stakeholders indicated that taste and physical properties of ONS, but also social environment as well as the physical/mental state and motivation of a patient are important facilitators which should be considered during the prescription. In conclusion, to optimize treatment of malnutrition using ONS and food snacks, the above mentioned opportunities to better match the needs of malnourished patients have to be tackled. Involvement of the different stakeholders within the healthcare facility will be important to implement required changes in nutritional practice.
MULTIFILE
Bedrijven hebben risicomanagement de afgelopen jaren veel aandacht gegeven, ook in hun jaarverslag. Toch blijft het een worsteling, zo blijkt volgens de auteur uit een analyse van de jaarverslagen van 2012 door studenten van de hogeschool van Amsterdam.
Already at diagnosis, head and neck cancer patients are atrisk for malnutrition. Local symptoms such as swallowingproblems are a major cause of malnutrition in thesepatients.1 Additionally, malnutrition may result fromchanges in smell and taste/aversion and loss of appetite.Presence of these systemic symptoms at diagnosis may beindicative for the cachexia syndrome. Therefore, we testedthe hypothesis that head and neck cancer patients to betreated with primary or postoperative (chemo)radiationsuffer from cachexia.
While the creation of an energy deficit (ED) is required for weight loss, it is well documented that actual weight loss is generally lower than what expected based on the initially imposed ED, a result of adaptive mechanisms that are oppose to initial ED to result in energy balance at a lower set-point. In addition to leading to plateauing weight loss, these adaptive responses have also been implicated in weight regain and weight cycling (add consequences). Adaptions occur both on the intake side, leading to a hyperphagic state in which food intake is favored (elevated levels of hunger, appetite, cravings etc.), as well as on the expenditure side, as adaptive thermogenesis reduces energy expenditure through compensatory reductions in resting metabolic rate (RMR), non-exercise activity expenditure (NEAT) and the thermic effect of food (TEF). Two strategies that have been utilized to improve weight loss outcomes include increasing dietary protein content and increasing energy flux during weight loss. Preliminary data from our group and others demonstrate that both approaches - especially when combined - have the capacity to reduce the hyperphagic response and attenuate reductions in energy expenditure, thereby minimizing the adaptive mechanisms implicated in plateauing weight loss, weight regain and weight cycling. Past research has largely focused on one specific component of energy balance (e.g. hunger or RMR) rather than assessing the impact of these strategies on all components of energy balance. Given that all components of energy balance are strongly connected with each other and therefore can potentially negate beneficial impacts on one specific component, the primary objective of this application is to use a comprehensive approach that integrates all components of energy balance to quantify the changes in response to a high protein and high energy flux, alone and in combination, during weight loss (Fig 1). Our central hypothesis is that a combination of high protein intake and high energy flux will be most effective at minimizing both metabolic and behavioral adaptations in several components of energy balance such that the hyperphagic state and adaptive thermogenesis are attenuated to lead to superior weight loss results and long-term weight maintenance.
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