Dietary Patterns in the Frail Elderly

Frail older adults have an increased vulnerability to health and environmental stressors and are at a greater risk of functional decline, disability, loss of independence and mortality. Inadequate caloric, protein and micronutrient intakes have been positively associated with an increased risk of frailty, however this traditional single nutrient approach does not account for potential interactions and synergies of nutrients within the total diet. Using dietary patterns as a means of exploring the impact of overall food consumption offers an alternative approach to investigating associations between nutrition and frailty. The purpose of this paper is to review the existing body of knowledge about the frailty syndrome in relationship with various dietary patterns in aged populations and identify areas for further research.