A randomised controlled crossover study to assess adherence and palatability of a porridge supplement compared to a drink-based supplement in hospitalised older adults at risk of malnutrition.

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial looks at Copper (Supplement).

Oral nutritional supplements (ONS) are essential adjuncts in managing malnutrition in hospitalised older people.

This study aimed to explore the adherence and palatability of a new porridge supplement (PS) compared to a standard drink-based supplement (DS) in hospitalised older adults.

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 9 adults taking part.

The age groups tagged for this paper are older adults and people over 80, both men and women.

Palatability ratings were assessed with a 7-point Likert scale, and interviews were conducted with 9 older adults and 5 staff to explore product acceptability.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized and crossover study.

Because people in this Copper (Supplement) study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

In the crossover set-up each of the adults took both Copper (Supplement) and the comparison in turn, acting as their own control.

What Was Measured

A single-centre multi-method randomised controlled crossover study was conducted on adults aged ≥65 years at risk of malnutrition (Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool score 1-4).

PubMed files the paper under topics including Dietary Supplements, Malnutrition, Taste, Patient Compliance, Hospitalization, Beverages and Energy Intake.

The authors tagged it with the keywords Appetite, Oral nutritional supplement and Protein intake.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized and crossover study of Copper (Supplement) in 9 adults.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The publication is from 2026 (Journal of nutritional science), a journal based in England.

More context: the Copper (Supplement) compound page, all human trials.