Can buffets cut nursing home malnutrition?

• Position: Your Life - Brief Article

Although Federal and state regulations dictate that nursing homes must provide sufficient nutrition and feeding assistance to residents, the incidence of malnutrition among residents ranges from 20 to 60%, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Baltimore, Md. They conducted a pilot study to determine if a buffet-style dining program would enhance food consumption and nutritional status.

Forty residents were recruited and randomly assigned to either the buffet-style dining program or to receive the conventional tray-style meal. Results showed that participants in the buffet-style dining...