Current Status and Issues of Modified Diet for Dysphagia Persons by Researching Physical Properties

Abstract

Objective: Several reports have measured the physical properties of a modified diet for patients with dysphagia at individual facilities, but few multicenter reports have been published. We measured the physical properties of modified diets for patients with dysphagia at many facilities and judged whether these properties are in accordance with the standards for “Foods for the elderly with difficulty in swallowing” of “Food for Special Dietary Uses.”

Method: We sampled 903 diets for dysphagic persons provided by 176 facilities. We measured physical properties of each sample in 2 temperature zones according to the standard regulation of “Foods for the elderly with difficulty in swallowing.”

Result and Discussion: Meats, fishes and seafood, potatoes, and test foods for videofluoroscopic examination of swallowing showed that more than half of the samples did not conform to the standard regulations. Meats, fishes, and seafood are easily affected by temperature and factor of not conforming to the standard regulations of potatoes are adhesiveness and test foods are hardness. It was found that the physical properties of meats and potatoes can be adjusted by adding water during cooking.

Conclusion: We measured the physical properties of the modified diet for dysphagic persons and found that it is difficult to prepare meats, fishes and seafood, potatoes, and test foods.