60
AUG2017
FOOD FOCUS THAILAND
STRATEGIC
R & D
Consumersaged50+arealready reported tobeover-represented
among buyers of food brands with health benefits and their repeat
purchase rates are higher than average. Depending on the product
category, their repeat purchase could be as high as about 80%.
Functional foods and beverages are becoming popular solutions to
addressage-relatedcomplaints likememory loss, impairedmobility,
fatigueanddeclining vision.
CognitiveHealthAndThenSome
Cognition is a combination of mental processes that includes the
ability to learn new things, intuition, judgment, language and
remembering.Whencognition is impaired, apersonhas troublewith
these processes that begin to affect the things he or she can do in
everyday life.Laterstagecognitive impairment isdementia, themost
common form being Alzheimer’s disease, is characterized by
progressive and profound loss of memory, cognitive function and
ability to carry out daily functional activities of living. In Japan, it is
estimated that twomillionpeoplesuffer fromdementiaand thisnumber
will likely increaseas the population ages.
Longchainpoly-unsaturated fattyacids (LC-PUFA), inparticular
omega-3s and specifically eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and
docosahexaenoicacid (DHA) constitute thepredominant LC-PUFAs
in the brain and neural tissues. They are crucial formaintenance of
brain functionandaccording to several studies, highblood levels of
omega-3smay help preserve cognitive functions in theelderly.
In the Longitudinal Study of Aging published by the Japanese
National Institute for LongevitySciences, 232male and 198 female
Japanese aged 60-79 were assessed with the mini-mental state
examination for cognitive decline. Researchers found that a
moderately high level of serumDHAmay prevent cognitive decline
amongcommunity-dwellingelderlyJapanese individuals. Inanother
trial with more than 1,600 individuals between 45 and 70 years,
researchers found that omega-3 fatty acids and fish consumption
were inversely related to the riskof impairedoverall cognitive function
and speed.
Depression is extremely common in older adults with mild
cognitive impairment and increases the riskof developingdementia.
Clinical trials investigating theefficacy of omega-3 supplementation
in alleviating depressive symptoms have found positive results in
about half of published studies. In a randomized controlled trial in a
groupof50peopleover theageof65withmildcognitive impairment,
researchers found that groups supplementedwith highDHA (1.55g
DHA+ 0.40g EPA)/day or high EPA (1.67g EPA+ 0.16g DHA)/day
over 6 months significantly improved depression scores while the
group supplementedwith highDHAalso had significantly improved
verbal fluency.
Inaddition toomega-3s, there isa fundamental role forBvitamins
inneurological andpsychological functions. For example, low levels
ofvitaminB12havebeenassociatedwithmemory lossandcognitive
deficits. Randomized controlled studies show that supplementation
ofvitaminB12and folicacidmay improve thecognitivestatusofolder
adults: long term supplementationof dailyoral 400μg folicacidand
100 μg vitaminB12 promoted improvement in cognitive functioning
after 24 months, particularly in immediate and delayed memory
performance. Vitamin B12 deficiency can also be caused by a lack
of intrinsic factor, a substance secreted by the stomach cells that
binds tovitaminB12andenables itsabsorptionor inadequatestomach
acid supply, both of whichare oftenobserved inelderly people.
TheChallengeof Physical Changes
Human aging is associated with a significant deterioration of body
composition, characterized by an increase in body fat mass and a
decrease in leanbodymass leading tochanges inmetabolism.There
isa redistributionofbody fat frommainlysubcutaneous toabdominal
fatwhile thedecrease in leanbodymass iscausedbya reduction in
size and strength of skeletal muscle.
Conjugated linoleicacid (CLA)hasbeenproven to improvebody
composition by reducing body fat massmodestlywhilemaintaining
or increasing leanbodymass, and isalsoeffective in targeting fat in
themidriff area.Ameta-analysissummarized thefindingsof various
clinical trials and concluded that CLA can reduce body fat mass by
0.09kg /week.This reduction, thoughofseemingly littleconsequence
at first glance, isstill significantwhen thecurrent trendofweight gain
isconsiderede.g.populations indevelopedcountriesgainanaverage
of0.4kgperyear (0.009kg/week).Consequently, theseweightgains
add up over time and CLA could contribute to prevent the gradual
accumulation of fat mass during aging.
