This study, looking at the relationship between the occlusal/biting force and exercise, aimed to examine the effects of the introduction of exercises to enhance the occlusal force as well as the quality of life( QOL). Subjects were elderly people aged 70 years or older living alone. There were twelve elderly who performed exercise (intervention group), and, we randomly selected thirty-one who did not( non-intervention group). The intervention period was from september 2009 to september 2011. A 30- to 40-minute exercise session, held twice a month, included warm-ups, training to increase oral and motor functions, and cooling-down exercises. Body measurement and assessment of the oral function were performed in both groups every year to obtain objective data. Each year, interviews were conducted to ask the intervention group about their MNA® (mini nutritional assessment) and FFQ (food-frequency questionnaire) scores, dietary life, and ADL, and each subject in the non-intervention group about their MNA® and dietary life with a questionnaire survey sheet. In the intervention group, the grip strength and occlusal and biting forces were expected to maintain throughout the survey period. There was a decrease in the rate of change of the occlusal force between the beginning and one year after the beginning in the non-intervention group, whereas the rate in the intervention group significantly increased (p=0.020). The MNA® score in the non-intervention group for one year after the beginning was lower compared to the beginning, while the score in the intervention group was markedly higher( p=0.013). It was seen from the grip strength, occlusal force, biting force by exercises to enhance the occlusal force that combines body movement, the result suggest that comprehensive support incorporating an approach to maintain and enhance the occlusal/biting force not only promotes the health of the elderly and care prevention, but also improves the QOL.

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This study was conducted to study what kind of home-visit nutritional support (home-visit nutritional advice) should be conducted by registered dietitians in order to promote the application of nutritional support programs, and further to investigate how improvements could be obtained in the amount of nutrition intake in the elderly living at home and their general nutritional situation. The study included 62 cases of subjects receiving homevisit nutritional support (24 males, 38 females, age range 76 . 2±7 . 6 years old, nursing care level 3 . 0±1 . 6). The intervention was conducted from July through September of 2010, and the mini nutritional assessment (MNA®) was employed to access the nutrition, food intake volume, quality of life( QOL), and activities of daily living( ADL) of the subjects. A follow-up assessment was also conducted three months after the study was concluded. The MNA® results showed that 82% of the subjects were undernourished or at risk, and nine of the subjects dropped out of the study during the intervention due to being hospitalized, etc. It was apparent that the home-visit nutritional support should included advice related to a number of subjects, including weight management and eating snacks between meals, etc. The 53 subjects who concluded the intervention program showed a significant increase in the intake volume of nutritional elements, such as energy and protein, at the follow-up assessment conducted three months after the intervention program was concluded. In addition, body weight also showed a significant increase, and the MNA®, QOL, and ADL demonstrated significant improvements. Based on these results, it can be considered that registered dietitians can lay an important role in the improvement of nutrition, QOL, and ADL for elderly subjects living at home through the performance of a home-visit nutritional support intervention program.

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