APPETITE:
Innovative plAnt Protein fibre and Physical activity solutions to address poor appEtite and prevenT undernutrITion in oldEr adults
overview
The APPETITE project is a trans-European research initiative that brought together eight institutes across six European countries- Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, France, and the United Kingdom- working collaboratively toward a shared goal. Each participating institute was funded by its respective national funding agency through the EU Joint Programming Initiative “A Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life” (JPI HDHL), under the ERA-HDHL 2020 call focused on developing targeted nutritional strategies to prevent undernutrition in older adults (PREVNUT).
The primary objective of APPETITE was to prevent undernutrition among community-dwelling older adults by improving appetite through targeted nutritional interventions and physical activity. This objective was addressed through the co-development of innovative plant-based protein and fibre supplements in close collaboration with older individuals experiencing poor appetite. Following product development, studies were conducted in older adults with poor appetite who were at high risk of undernutrition. These studies examined the effects of the selected products- alone and in combination with physical activity- on digestibility, amino acid bioavailability, whole-body protein metabolism, appetite, incidence of undernutrition, and other relevant nutritional and functional outcomes.
This overarching objective was pursued through five sequential stages, structured as distinct work packages (WPs), each with specific objectives as outlined below:
The APPETITE Consortium partners were funded by their national funding
agencies through the JPI HDHL call:
“Development of targeted nutrition for prevention of undernutrition for older adults (PREVNUT)”
Work package 1: Consumer insight
Understanding the older consumer with poor appetite.
Work package 2: Development of innovative plant-protein fibre products
Development of attractive innovative plant-based protein and fibre supplements
Work package 3: mechanistic insights
Did the innovative plant-based protein and fibre supplements behaving as expected
Work package 4: multi-country randomised controlled
intervention trial
An investigation into the overall applicability of developed plant-based protein and fibre supplements
Work package 5: impact and dissemination
It is time to let the wider scientific and general community know the results of our investigation. Where can you learn about the results of this research?