Improvement of Functionality
Conditions
Brief summary
Malnutrition and lack of regular exercise are often found in older adults and have been identified as important risk factors for independence loss and nursing home admission in older community-dwelling adults. Existing evidence suggests that high protein nutritional supplements can increase skeletal muscle protein synthesis following exercise in older individuals. However, increase of muscle strength by resistance training does not decrease the rate of falls and is not necessarily linked to an improvement of physical function. In contrast to resistance training, T'ai Chi, dance and eurhythmics have been shown to decrease fall incidence and improve mobility and physical function in older adults. The investigators will examine the combination of eurhythmics and high protein nutritional supplements. The aim of the study is to investigate whether there is an increase in normal walking velocity due to the nutritional supplement on top of once weekly Jacques-Delacroze Eurhythmics training.
Interventions
DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTONS+JDR
Oral Nutritional Supplement with Jacques-Delacroze Eurythmic training
DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTJDR
Jacques-Delacroze Eurythmic training with placebo ONS
Sponsors
Société des Produits Nestlé (SPN)
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
65 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Community-dwelling males and females, aged ≥ 65 years * Able to walk unassisted for 15 meters * MMSE ≥ 24 points * Having obtained his/her informed consent
Exclusion criteria
* Serum 25(OH) Vitamin D \> 100 nmol/L from the blood sampling at Screening * Current regular (defined as \>3x /week) use of high protein oral nutritional supplements * Milk protein allergy (Lactose intolerance) * Severe visual impairment (corrected near vision \<0.2 in both eyes) * Severe neurological, orthopaedic, rheumatologic or psychiatric illness causing inability to understand or follow task instructions or to walk 15 meters without assistance (if clinically questionable, final decision will be made by a senior physician) * Terminal illness with life expectancy less than 12 months, as determined by a physician
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Normal walking velocity | 6 months | The primary objective is to demonstrate in older adults receiving a once weekly Jacques-Delacroze Eurhythmics (JDR) training for six months, that a once daily nutritional supplementation increases normal walking velocity compared with placebo. The primary endpoint of this study is normal walking velocity (NW velocity, in cm/s) six months after the onset of the treatment. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Quality of Life and Nutritional status | baseline, 3 months, 6 months | The secondary objectives of the research project are to compare the effects of the NUDAL intervention versus JDR alone, on changes in functional measures, nutritional status and health-related quality of life |
| Normal walking velocity | 3 months | Normal walking velocity (NW velocity, in cm/s) will also be evaluated three months after the onset of treatment as a secondary outcome |
Countries
Switzerland
Outcome results
None listed