This study provides unique and potentially useful evidence regarding the profile of nutrient intakes, nutritional status, and physical function, and their relationships over time, in a sample of ethnically diverse community-dwelling older adults. These findings are particularly relevant as they add to existing literature to broaden our understanding of the relationship between diet and components of healthy ageing within this population. Also, the findings are both timely and pertinent given the growing ethnic diversity in the UK and some parts of Europe, highlighting the need for culturally adapted interventions specifically around diet and physical function to support this group to age more healthfully [4, 40].
The intakes of energy and most nutrients remained unchanged, except decreases in the daily intakes of magnesium, folate, vitamin B1, vitamin B6 and iron. This finding concurs with a 10-year longitudinal study of 25 South Asian women (mean age of 54.2 years) in Glasgow [41]. This study used a 7-day weighed food dairy and found no significant difference in energy intake. However, the findings contrast sharply with the Melbourne Chinese Cohort Study, composed of 262 Chinese adults with a mean age >50 years [42]. The authors found that intakes of energy, fats, fibre and protein increased significantly over eight years among women, but not men. Among men, the only significant change was a decrease in carbohydrate intake. This study utilised FFQ, which has been found to overestimate nutrient intakes in older adults [27]. This, coupled with the failure of the authors to account for an increase in nutrient supplement intakes at follow-up, could partially account for the differences between these studies. Additionally, the relatively shorter duration of follow-up in the present study as compared to the Melbourne study could also contribute. Furthermore, as previously reported in this sample, eating patterns were linked to cultural and religious purposes rather than health reasons, which could account for the stability of energy and macronutrient intakes over time [43].
In the context of the broader literature, the energy intakes observed over time in this study were comparable with those of the energy intakes of predominately white older adults in the UK aged 65+ years as reported in the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) [44]. Also, the energy intakes of males in the present study (1853.8 kcal/day baseline and 1822 kcal/day follow-up) were comparable to energy intakes of males in the Newcastle 85+ cohort (1848 kcal/day), but those of females (1358.5 kcal/day baseline and 1243.5 kcal/day follow-up) were less than the female energy intake values reported in the Newcastle 85+ cohort (1471 kcal/day) [45]. Additionally, the %TE from carbohydrates, protein, MUFA, and PUFA in the present study were higher, while the %TE from saturated fat was lower than the Newcastle 85+ cohort [45]. It has been observed that the traditional foods of ethnic minorities, with the exception of South Asian diets, are relatively higher in %TE from carbohydrate and lower in %TE from fats (including saturated fats), as compared to western diets [46, 47]. Hence, this difference in food composition between these ethnic groups and the disparity in age between the present sample and the Newcastle 85+ cohort might be accounting for the differences in energy and macronutrient intakes observed. The relatively high total energy and %TE from fats within the South Asian diets were also confirmed in this study, with participants identifying as South Asian having significantly higher intakes of total energy and %TE from fats as compared to those identifying as being African-Caribbean.
Another key finding from the present study is the inadequate amounts of micronutrients consumed. The intakes of these nutrients below the RNI were consistent at follow-up, suggesting a potential micronutrient deficiency in this sample. Given the importance of micronutrients for maintenance of good health, physical function and better quality of life, the low intakes are of concern, particularly when one considers the relatively high prevalence of non-communicable disease within this population [10]. The inadequate intake of various nutrients among older ethnic minorities in the present study is consistent with previous studies in the UK and elsewhere [11, 48]. However, in contrast to the present findings, the results from Years 7 and 8 (combined) of the UK NDNS Rolling Programme (a sample comprised of predominately white older adults), found that intakes of most micronutrients were at the RNI or above the RNI [44]. Variations in the level of deprivation between these two samples could be one factor accounting for these differences. It has been reported elsewhere that poverty and other forms of deprivation lead to poorer diets, and subsequently, a higher prevalence of malnutrition, in both community and hospital settings [49, 50]. Recently, the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing reported that being non-white (OR: 3.8; 95% CI 2.39–6.05) and obese (OR: 1.32; 96% CI 1.09–1.58) were associated with a higher vitamin D deficiency [51]. These findings further highlight the inequalities in nutrient intakes and the need for increasingly culturally tailored community-focussed interventions to promote adequate nutritional intake and the general health of this population.
Given the critical role of supplementation and the increased tendency of poorer nutrition in later life, nutrient supplementation is beneficial to healthy ageing [52, 53]. For instance, a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials concluded that supplementation of 17.5–25 µg of vitamin D daily reduces the risk of falls by 19% in older adults [53]. The vital role of nutrient supplementation observed in this study adds to the literature; supplementation significantly contributed to meeting the RNI for nutrients such as vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12, thiamine, niacin and vitamin E. However, the consumption of supplementation was relatively low over time, and lower for males as compared to females. Further studies explicitly examining prolonged supplementation within this population is needed to confirm our findings. However, given the benefits of supplementation observed, this population might benefit considerably from micronutrient supplementation.
Nutritional status and physical function declined significantly over the study period. The findings showed an increase of 13% in the number of people classified as malnourished or at-risk of malnutrition over the study period. Likewise, over time, almost half (47%) experienced at least one unit decrease in SPPB scores. These declines over a relatively short period are disturbing, which highlights the need for timely community nutritional and physical function assessment and appropriate strategies to address declines. The prevalence of malnutrition or at risk of malnutrition at both time points within this present study was more than double the estimated prevalence of malnutrition in the UK. It is estimated that more than 3 million older adults suffer from malnutrition, which accounts for more than 10% of the population aged 65 years and older [54, 55]. However, as seasonality is known to impact on eating behaviours and physical function, the season in which data were collected could have affected participants’ nutrient intake and subsequent nutritional status, leading to the high proportion of malnourished/at risk of malnutrition observed among this sample [43]. Despite this, the prevalence of malnutrition or at risk of malnutrition in studies outside the UK reported considerably higher percentages than the current study [56, 57]. For example, a study of 360 older adults aged 60 years and over in India found that 70% of the sample were malnourished or at risk of malnutrition [56].
The relationship between physical function and nutritional status in the present study confirms the findings of previous studies [58, 59]. A study of 457 randomly selected older Bangladeshis living in rural communities found that poorer nutritional status, increased age and co-morbidities, and being female were associated with functional limitations [57]. One possible explanation for this relationship could be the difficulty in shopping and preparing food, especially their traditional meals, due to physical limitations, which could eventually lead to inadequate dietary intake and malnutrition, which further exacerbates their physical function limitations [43, 59].
There was no significant relationship between sex and nutritional status in this present study. The role of women in society and their relative financial dependency partly accounts for the differences in nutritional status as reported by previous studies [56, 60]. However, within this study, there was no difference in education and deprivation (IMD scores) between sexes, suggesting that females may have been more comparable to males with regards to resources and access to healthier foods, and hence could afford to cook and eat diets similar to their male counterparts. Also, it could be assumed that by virtue of western economic culture and the availability of supermarkets in the Birmingham area, females had fairly equal access to food as compared to traditional customs of some cultures where men eat first, and older women tend to give their share of their food to other family members, especially their grandchildren [59].
The strengths of this study include the use of the multiple-pass 24-hour recall approach on four-non-consecutive days (including a weekend day) compared to the use of a single 24-hour recall by previous studies which fails to account for day-to-day variation, or the FFQ which has been found to overestimate energy and nutrient intakes in older adults [11, 27, 61]. However, it is important to acknowledge the high possibility of under-reporting and recall bias in this study. Under-reporting contributes to a significant amount of error in dietary reporting and is even higher in overweight and obese populations, such as those participating in the present study [62]. Additionally, the number of days used in assessing diet in this present study was insufficient to capture some nutrients. Studies have reported a range of 3 to 9 days of 24-hour recalls to capture a true representation of energy and macronutrients, and a much wider range of 4 to 160 days of 24-hour recalls to capture a true representation of micronutrient intakes [63].
Furthermore, given the influence of seasonality and increasing age on dietary intake and nutritional status, the eight months’ follow-up period within this present study may have been relatively short to assess the changes in these variables accurately. Hence, one must exercise caution in drawing any firm conclusions from these findings, as they can only provide an insight into the potential changes in dietary trends and nutritional status over time within this population. Future studies with more extended follow-up periods, which control for seasonality, are required to investigate the dietary trends and nutritional status within this population. Lastly, even though the maximum variation technique was used during sampling to ensure a more diverse sample, it was challenging to recruit South Asian females, especially females self-identifying as Bangladeshi. Thus, the findings are not generalizable to all ethnic minorities living in the UK.
Implications for Research and Practice
Given the declines in nutritional status and physical function observed within a relatively short period, strategies for implementing a community-led programme around early nutritional and physical function assessments at community and faith/religious centres could help to identify and treat malnutrition and physical function limitations before further deterioration. The co-creation of such programmes with health care professionals and community/faith leaders may be effective in increasing accessibility and acceptability of these assessments, and also ensure that consistent health messages are delivered across communities. Interventions that are co-created and run at faith centres have been shown to increase access and improve health outcomes [64, 65]. These benefits can serve as a strong incentive for community-dwelling older adults to visit these meeting places to improve their social networks, which is equally essential for a healthier ageing trajectory.
As previously reported in this same sample, fear of gaining weight and engagement in unhealthy practices to lose weight were observed [43]. The practice of fasting, skipping meals, or drastically reducing portion sizes without proper adherence to diet quality are common practices, which may have contributed to the observed low nutrient intakes in this study. While future studies are recommended to explore this in detail, health professionals could change their advice and avoid generic messages such as “you are overweight/obese, so you need to lose weight,” and instead deliver more individually tailored messages to achieve weight loss using healthier practices that do not negatively impact nutritional quality of one’s diet.
Lastly, given the importance of supplementation and the low supplement intakes observed in this study, this population would benefit from a free supplementation programme [66, 67]. To increase compliance, such a programme could be integrated into already existing community or faith group activities. Additionally, health professionals, specifically nutritionists and dieticians attending to older ethnic minorities, could include a mandatory dietary assessment and based on the results, prescribe free supplements if needed, in line with safer intake thresholds, to enhance acceptability and intake to improve nutrient status among this population. This practice could be complemented with appropriately tailored dietary education to ensure that these supplements do not replace a well-balanced diet.