Strategies to increase protein intake at mealtimes through a novel high-frequency food service in hospitalized patients.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Additional strategies should be applied to optimize hospital food services, in order to increase the number of patients with adequate protein intake at mealtimes. Therefore, we aim to specify the differences in protein intake per mealtime between the traditional three meals a day food service (TMS) and a novel six times a day food service containing protein-rich food items, FoodforCare (FfC).

SUBJECTS/METHODS: This was a post-hoc analysis of a prospective cohort study comparing the TMS (July 2015 - May 2016; n = 326) to FfC (January 2016 - December 2016; n = 311) in adult hospitalized patients.

RESULTS: Protein intake (g) was higher with FfC at all mealtimes (p < 0.05) except for dinner (median [IQR] at breakfast: 17 [6.5-25.7] vs. 10 [3.8-17]; 10:00 a.m.: 3.3 [0.3-5.3] vs. 1 [0-2.2]; lunch: 17.6 [8.4-25.8] vs. 13 [7-19.4]; 2:30 p.m.: 5.4 [0.8-7.5] vs. 0 [0-1.8]; 7:00 p.m.: 1 [0-3.5] vs. 0 [0-1.7]; 9:00 p.m.: 0 [0-0.1] vs. 0 [0-0]). At dinner, protein intake was highest for both food services (20.9 g [8.4-24.1] vs. 20.5 g [10.5-27.8]).

CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of a high-frequency food service can improve protein intake at mealtimes during the day and might be a strategy to increase the number of patients with adequate protein intake.