Older adults' acceptance of ready-to-eat meals in relation to food choice and sensory ability.

With the growing population of older adults, a deeper understanding of their food choice and acceptance is vital to improving older adult dietary intake. The objectives of this study were to: (1) determine acceptance of three ready-to-eat (RTE) meals developed for older adults (age = 60+); (2) characterize the oral health status and food choices of these older adults and relate these data to meal acceptance. Participants (n = 52; average age = 71.7) completed an initial session that evaluated oral health and sensory perception followed by a home-use test of three RTE meals developed from a previous conjoint analysis study: teriyaki chicken with rice, marinated tofu and carrots, and vegetable ratatouille. Sensory evaluation measured liking of various meal components. Participant food choices were evaluated with the Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ). Few participants suffered from reduced sensory ability; all had good quality oral health. Sensory evaluations revealed that the marinated tofu meal was liked significantly less than the other two meals (p < 0.0001). FCQ results clustered participants into two clusters; the responses of Cluster 1 were significantly higher for 29 of the 36 items (p < 0.05). The factors of greatest average importance were sensory appeal (4.6), health (4.3), and price (3.9) in Cluster 1 (n = 30) and sensory appeal (3.8), health (3.6), and weight control (3.2) in Cluster 2 (n = 20). Sensory appeal and health were significantly more important (p < 0.0001) to Cluster 1. Results of this study suggest that sensory appeal and health greatly contribute to food choice which was reflected in the sensory acceptance of the RTE meals. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Older adults may suffer from sensory loss, but sensory appeal of food is still greatly important to them. Healthy and nutritious food is also important to older adult food choice. Food products developed for older adults should be formulated to provide both nutrition and a pleasant sensory experience, while also keeping price and convenience in mind.