Dietary-related profile of older persons in the Chinese community: An exploratory study

Background: Nutrition plays an important role throughout the life span. It is the interaction of nutrition and health that form part of the aging process. Nutrition affects the maintenance of physiological and biological process of aging, also, the risk of development of acute and chronic diseases. Objective: To examine dietary-related behaviors and lifestyle factors among non-institutionalized older persons in a local Chinese community. Design, setting & participants: It was a cross-sectional qualitative descriptive design. A convenience sample of 36 older persons (mean±SD age, 75±7.8 years) in a community center were approached and invited to complete a questionnaire regarding their dietary-related profile and the self-perceived nutritional and health status. Results: Results showed that 40% (n=14) of the older persons lived alone and ate alone on a regular basis, taking few fruit and vegetables per day, inadequate fluid and no dairy or bean curd products, and 48% (n=17) were overweight or obese. The self-perceived nutritional status correlated directly with perceived health status, which was high. Clinical relevance: The clinical relevance of this study is highlighted by the far from optimal dietary behaviors among this group of older persons. Nurses and health care providers working in the community should provide education on healthy diet and nutrition-related health problems, especially to older persons, for health maintenance and disease prevention.