Increasing food intake in nursing home residents: Efficacy of the Sorbet Increases Salivation intervention

The purpose of this study was to test the effect of the Sorbet Increases Salivation (SIS) intervention on resident food intake and body weight. Using a pre- post design, thirty-nine nursing home residents received 2 ounces of lemon-lime sorbet prior to lunch and dinner meals for 6 weeks. As a comparison and prior to the intervention, participants were offered 2 ounces of a non-citrus drink for 6 weeks prior to the lunch and dinner meals. Twenty-two residents completed both the comparison and intervention periods. Of those, 8 gained weight, 10 maintained and 4 lost weight. The amounts of food ingested during dinner increased significantly (p = 0.001) from the comparison period to the intervention period (208–253 g). For liquids, the amounts ingested during dinner decreased significantly (p = 0.002) from the comparison period to the intervention period (from 356 ml to 310 ml). Further study is needed to test the efficacy of the intervention with a larger sample of residents from multiple nursing homes.