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Dietary factors in relation to daily activity energy expenditure and mortality among older adults

  • Dietary Factors and Mortality in the Elderly
  • Published:
JNHA - The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging

Abstract

Objectives

To examine the association between dietary factors to daily activity energy expenditure (DAEE) and mortality among older adults.

Design and setting

A sub-study of Health, Aging, and Body Composition study.

Participants

298 older participants (aged 70–82 years) in the Health, Aging, and Body Composition Energy Expenditure sub-study.

Measurements

Dietary factors, DAEE, and all-cause mortality were measured in 298 older participants. Dietary factors include dietary intake assessed by the Block Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), Healthy Eating Index (HEI), and self-reported appetite and enjoyment of eating. DAEE was assessed using doubly labeled water. All-cause mortality was evaluated over a 9 year period.

Results

Participants in the highest tertile of DAEE were more likely to be men and to report having a ‘good’ appetite; BMI among men, proportion married, IL-6 and CRP levels and energy intake were also higher. Fewer black participants were in the ‘good’ HEI category. Participants in the ‘good’ HEI category had higher cognitive scores and a higher education level. Participants who reported improvement in their appetite as well as participants who reported a ‘good’ appetite were at lower risk for mortality (HR (95% CI): 0.42 (0.24–0.74) and 0.50 (0.26–0.88), respectively) even after adjusting for DAEE, demographic, nutritional and health indices.

Conclusions

We showed an association between DAEE and appetite and mortality among well-functioning, community-dwelling older adults. These findings may have some practical use for the health providers. Inclusion of a question regarding appetite of an elderly patient may provide important information regarding risk for health deterioration and mortality.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The S. Daniel International Center for Health and Nutrition and the department of Epidemiology and Health Evaluation, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel

    D. R. Shahar

  2. Laboratory of Epidemiology, Demography and Biometry, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

    D. R. Shahar, B. Yu & T. B. Harris

  3. Sticht Center on Aging, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

    D. K. Houston & S. B. Kritchevsky

  4. Department of Foods and Nutrition, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

    J. -S. Lee

  5. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

    S. M. Rubin

  6. Division of Endocrinology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

    D. E. Sellmeyer

  7. University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA

    F. A. Tylavsky

  8. The S. Daniel Abraham International Center for Health and Nutrition, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel

    D. R. Shahar

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  1. D. R. Shahar
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  2. B. Yu
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  4. S. B. Kritchevsky
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The Health, Aging and Body Composition Study

Corresponding author

Correspondence to D. R. Shahar.

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Shahar, D.R., Yu, B., Houston, D.K. et al. Dietary factors in relation to daily activity energy expenditure and mortality among older adults. J Nutr Health Aging 13, 414–420 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-009-0077-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-009-0077-y

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