Dietary Behavior and Nutritional Status of the Elderly Women Attending at the Health Promotion Program in an Urban Community

Kwon, Jin Hee; Yoon, Hee Jung; Lee, Jae Moo; Lee, Sung Kook

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the nutritional status of the elderly women, who attended the Health Promotion Program of the Seogu Health Center in Daegu. The study subjects were 158 elderly women in an urban community. The general characteristics, dietary behavior (nutritional knowledge, nutritional attitudes and dietary habits), food and nutrient intake were surveyed by an individual interview. The average age of the study subjects was 70.9 +/- 2.3 years of the subject group 79.1% ranged in age from 65 to 74 years and 20.9% were over 75 years. Their average score for nutritional knowledge, nutritional attitudes and dietary habits was 7.3 (total mark of 10), 7.2 (total mark of 10) and 9.1 (total mark of 22) respectively. Specifically, the level of the dietary habits of the study subjects was very low. In relation to food group intake of the study subjects according to age, their food intake was low. The total, plant, and animal food intake were 1078.9 g, 954.4 g (88.5%), and 244.4 g (11.5%), respectively. The mean daily energy intake and nutrient intake according to percentage of the Korean RDA were higher in the from 65 to 74 year group than in those people over 75 years. The average calories and the mean percentage of nutrient intake, except for vitamin C and phosphorus, were below 75% of the Korean RDA. It seems that the nutrient intake was very low. The mean nutrient adequacy ratio (MAR) was 0.59. Nutritional status of age over 75 years old was significantly lower than that of 65 - 74 years old group (Mar = 0.60 VS 0.54, p < 0.05). The correlation coefficients between their dietary behavior (nutritional knowledge, nutritional attitudes, dietary habit) and their mean nutrient adequacy ratio (MAR) showed significant linear relations. In conclusion, if nutritional education is to affect the dietary behavior of elderly women, it should be included in a program to promote their nutrition and health status.