Design and evaluation of a nutritionally adequate diet for healthy ageing in older UK adults: The Healthy Ageing DIet (HADI) Study

There is a critical need to define nutritionally adequate dietary recommendations for optimal health and well-being in later life and inform targeted agri-food innovations to help UK citizens aged 65 years meet their nutritional needs.
This project aims to address these gaps by: (i) combining evidence review, state of the art diet modelling techniques and stakeholder engagement to design a Healthy Ageing Diet (HADI) for older UK adults; and, (ii) evaluating the impact of HADI on nutritional intake, nutritional status and measures of healthy ageing.
We hypothesise that:
HADI will be associated with adequate intake and status of key nutrients of concern
Greater HADI adherence will be associated with slower cognitive and functional decline and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease
Objectives:
1. Complete a systematic review on health impact of undernutrition in older adults
2. Apply diet optimisation modelling using national food consumption data to define the minimum amount of dietary change to food group proportions represented in the Eatwell Guide to meet nutritional requirements for adults 65 years
3. Use the models to determine 'problem' nutrients requiring diet fortification to meet the nutritional needs of older adults
4. Conduct qualitative research with older consumers and agri-food industry stakeholders to define acceptable foods that would be feasible for targeted nutrient fortification and product innovation.
5. Construct HADI score to determine adherence to an optimised healthy diet for 65 years.
6. Conduct longitudinal data analysis in nationally representative UK ageing cohorts to determine relations between HADI, nutritional status and healthy ageing.