Promoting Patient Eating
 

Few things are more satisfying than a good breakfast with familiar product names, known from home. More and more hospitals move to room service for breakfast delivery. Patients can choose from a chart the breakfast items they favour at that time. If a hospital does not operate room service but tray service it is important that breakfast items are presented on a menu card in an appealing and tempting way to stimulate consumption.

Children tend to have a preferred cereal product such as Kellogg’s Frosties or Coco Pops. And many of the adult patients will be in hospital for a treatment without being ill.  Across Europe current consumer preference in breakfast cereals are brands such as All-Bran, Fruit ‘n fibre, Special K and mueslis.

Patients over the age of 80 have a 5 times higher prevalence of malnutrition than those under 50 years old. Malnourished elderly patients are more ill and use more medicine. Lack of energy, limited mobility, illness and medicine usage can all contribute to a reduced appetite. Especially for elderly patients we recommend to suggest Corn Flakes, Special K or All-Bran prepared with warm milk which makes it easy to swallow. By eating cereals with milk the daily recommended intake of Calcium (300 mg/25%) and fibres are more easily achieved.

It is not always easy to change eating habits of patients during a few days stay in the hospital.

Dieticians have created useful educational material to hand out to patients to explain healthy eating habits.

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