# Dietary Adequacy in Older Adult Nursing Home Residents of the Northern Iberian Peninsula

## TL;DR

This study finds that older adults in nursing homes in Spain and Portugal often have inadequate diets, with issues like low protein and high salt intake.

## Contribution

The study provides a comparative analysis of dietary adequacy in older adults from two regions of the Northern Iberian Peninsula.

## Key findings

- Spanish nursing home residents had higher caloric intake than Portuguese residents.
- A significant percentage of residents in both countries had protein and lipid intakes below recommended levels.
- Salt intake exceeded recommendations for most residents in both Spain and Portugal.

## Abstract

According to the latest data, Spain (19.4%) and Portugal (21.8%) are the two European countries with the highest percentage of older adults. Concerns about diet quality are increasing, especially among institutionalized older people, who are at the greatest risk of malnutrition. To assess the adequacy of dietary intake of 186 older adults (>65 y) institutionalized in public nursing homes (NH) in Galicia (Northwest Spain) and the Porto district (Northern Portugal), a cross-sectional study has been carried out. The double-weighing method and a country-specific food composition database were employed for nutritional assessment. Nutritional adequacy was assessed based on the recommendations of the EFSA and WHO. Caloric intake in Spanish NHs was higher than in Portuguese facilities; 20.3% and 35.8% of Spanish and Portuguese residents, respectively, had a protein intake below the EFSA recommendation, and 46.2% and 44.9% of residents in Portugal and Spain, respectively, had lipid intakes below the reference intake range. Further, 45.5% of the residents in Portugal and 66.9% in Spain had a carbohydrate intake within the recommended range. Salt intake was higher than the recommendation for 67.0% and 32.3% of the residents in Spain and Portugal, respectively. This study supports the notion that institutionalized older adults are prone to significant nutritional inadequacies.