The Impact of Food-Shaping Techniques on Nutrition, Mealtime Experiences, and Quality of Life for Older Adults in Aged Care Settings: A Systematic Review.

Objective: Food-shaping methods, particularly for texture-modified foods, present numerous opportunities to improve the visual appeal of food and potentially the nutrition of older people with dysphagia (swallowing difficulty). This review appraises and synthesizes the evidence on the use of food-shaping methods to enhance nutrition in older adults with swallowing difficulties.

Methods: In August 2022, five electronic databases (PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science) were searched for original research related to the intersection of nutrition, food shaping, and older adults with swallowing difficulties. Characteristics of included studies were described and data from results and findings extracted for analysis across studies.

Results: Eighteen studies met the inclusion criteria and encompassed a variety of settings, including aged care settings (n = 15) and food science laboratories (n = 3). Qualitative and quantitative findings demonstrated a variety of impacts of food shaping for the older adult with swallowing difficulty, including enhanced nutrition and wellbeing. The content themes identified across studies were: links between food shaping and nutrition, shaping food for individual choice, food shaping for enjoyment, a combination of supporting factors, collaborative inter-disciplinary teams and roles, and implementation aligns with local contexts.

Conclusion: With recent growth in research on food shaping, the body of studies reviewed identified an influence of food-shaping methods on the nutritional status of older adults with swallowing difficulties. Given the identified potential benefit of food shaping and attention to the visual appeal of food for older people, further research examining links between food shaping and nutrition are warranted.