Elder
Law FAX -- January 16, 2006
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Education |
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Four-Item Questionnaire Predicts Weight Loss in
Elders
Weight loss can have devastating consequences on quality-of-life, morbidity,
and mortality of elderly people living in the community.
Many elders lose weight because they simply lack appetite for food. But who is at risk for weight loss? How can weight loss be predicted and, hence perhaps, prevented?
Researchers at the Division of Geriatric Medicine, Saint Louis University, in St. Louis, have devised a simple, four-item questionnaire, called the simplified nutritional appetite questionnaire (SNAQ), that appears to be an effective tool to predict weight loss in community-dwelling adults and long-term care residents.
Here are the four questions:
My appetite is
1. very poor
2. poor
3. average
4. good
5. very good
When I eat
1. I feel full after eating only a few mouthfuls
2. I feel full after eating about a third of a meal
3. I feel full after eating over half a meal
4. I feel full after eating most of the meal
5. I hardly ever feel full
Food tastes
1. very bad
2. bad
3. average
4. good
5. very good
Normally I eat
1. less than one meal a day
2. one meal a day
3. two meals a day
4. three meals a day
5. more than three meals a day
Tally the results based on the following numerical scale: a = 1, b = 2, c = 3, d = 4, e = 5. The sum of the scores for the individual items constitutes the SNAQ score. SNAQ score =14 indicates significant risk of at least 5 % weight loss within six months.
A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows scores on the SNAQ questionnaire correctly identified those who would go on to lose 5 percent of their weight more than eight times out of 10. The test also identified those who would lose 10 percent of their weight and is about 88 percent successful in doing so.
Elder Law FAX is published every other Monday by the Elder Law Practice of Timothy L. Takacs, with offices in Hendersonville and Cookeville, Tennessee. Visit us on the Web at http://www.tn-elderlaw.com. Copyright 2006 by the Elder Law Practice of Timothy L. Takacs. Would you like Elder Law FAX e-mailed to you free? To subscribe, please use the Elder Law FAX Subscription Form at http://www.tn-elderlaw.com/faxform.html.