Research Project Detail
Dietary requirements of residents living in retirement homes - are they getting enough Omega 3 fatty acids?
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Dr. Ken Stark, University of Waterloo
RESEARCH PROGRAM AFFILIATION: Agri-food for Healthy Aging (A-HA) Initiative
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
The research team is interested in studying the composition of the food that residents living in long-term care and retirement homes eat during the day - both in the meals they are given as well as in the snacks they consume independently. They will be focusing their analysis on the level of Omega 3 fatty acids in the diet, since these fatty acids have tremendous health benefits in areas such as dementia and macular degeneration.
PRACTICAL IMPLICATION
The outcome of this project will involve reports back to facility-specific personnel outlining the composition of the food that the residents are eating, and it may help to influence policies about dietary requirements of Omega 3 fatty acids in the meals for residents in retirement homes and long-term care facilities.
PUBLICATIONS
Fratesi JA, Hogg RC, Young-Newton GS, Patterson AC, Charkhzarin P, Block Thomas K, Sharratt MT, Stark KD. Direct quantitation of omega-3 fatty acid intakes of Canadian residents of a long-term care facility. Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism. 2009;34:1-9.
*For more information on other projects, publications and/or presentations involving Dr. Ken Stark, please visit the Agri-food for Healthy Aging (A-HA) website.
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