Rachel Fulton

A University of Florida research lab is speculating whether or not handgrip strength could
be an easy tool to screen for malnutrition in adult seniors. The study is centered around adults 60
years of age or older who attend congregate meal sites on a weekly basis. Congregate meals are
federally funded and served to adults 60 years of age or older at no cost. However, a small
donation is recommended.
Food Science and Human Nutrition assistant professor Wendy Dahl is conducting the
study. Handgrip strength was recently recommended by the American Society of Parenteral and
Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) for screening hospital patients for risk of malnutrition, she said.
If someone is identified at risk for malnutrition using handgrip strength, he or she then
would be assessed to see if he or she were truly malnourished. Using a handgrip dynamometer,
which measures the pounds of pressure exerted by the hand and forearm, could be an easy tool to
identify malnourished individuals quickly and intervene before their condition worsens, she said.
The study began in July and is still underway. It requires at least 100 participants and so
far has 91, she said.
Age is really the only exclusion criteria, you had to be over the age of 60, Dahl said.
The assumption was if seniors are at the congregate meal site, they consume at least one
meal a week there. The study did not ask about health conditions unless participants had arm
surgery, arthritis or similar health issues, she said.
The food served at the meal sites meet federal nutritional standards and are normally held
at senior centers, schools or churches. The meals are served in a group setting, offer education on
nutrition and encourage socialization, she said.
Meal sites are everywhere, Dahl said. Weve been going to Marion County, and there
are 10 different sites there and I think there are eight in Alachua County.
UF senior Kelly Springstroh is writing a thesis on the study. Handgrip strength tests
would make it easier to diagnose malnutrition as well as frailty. It could save patients and
hospitals time and money, Springstroh said.

Improving the nutritional status for those found at risk would restore their health, quality
of the life, and bring more attention to seniors health in general, Springstroh said.
Handgrip strength effectively predicts frailty, or declined muscle function. Frailty and
malnutrition are also correlated, although there is no evidence yet that handgrip strength and
malnutrition are correlated, Springstroh said.
There is not an easy way to assess for malnutrition in older adults, so if somehow we
could link it with handgrip strength it would be a quick and easy universal tool, she said.
Contact: Wendy Dahl
Phone: 352-392-1991 Ext. 224
Email: wdahl@ufl.edu
Contact: Kelly Springstroh
Phone: 321-704-9391
Email: kspringstroh@ufl.edu