Avaliação da qualidade da dieta de idosos no Brasil: produção científica sobre o tema

Uma revisão integrativa da literatura sobre a qualidade da dieta de idosos foi realizada, no presente estudo, com o objetivo de caracterizar as pesquisas correlatas empreendidas no Brasil. O levantamento bibliográfico abrangeu publicações nacionais em nutrição, de 2000 a 2012 na base de dados LILACS e SciELO, sendo identificados  18 artigos científicos. Os resultados apontaram que o Índice de Qualidade da Dieta Revisado (IQD-R) foi o instrumento mais utilizado para a coleta dos dados. Deve-se enfatizar a importância de novos estudos sobre qualidade da dieta, para contribuir com a identificação de prioridades nas políticas públicas para a população idosa.</p

Evaluation of fruit intake among elderly in São Caetano do Sul, São Paulo, Brazil

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the consumption of fruits based on the habitual consumption in elderly. METHODS: Crosssectional study in non-probabilistic sample of 295 elderly people, from the research "Food Consumption Assessment in Elderly in São Caetano do Sul, São Paulo, Brazil". Information on fruits intake was obtained from the previously validated Food Frequency Questionnaire, and the consumption of energy and nutrients was assessed by two 24-hour dietary recall, using the Multiple Source Method Program (MSM). A logistic regression was applied to verify socio-demographic factors and lifestyle associated with fruits intake, and the Mann-Whitney test was used to evaluate the differences among the consumption of fruits, energy, macro and micronutrients. RESULTS: More than half of the sample (58%) consumed three or more fruit daily. The fruit intake was positively associated with female gender (OR = 2.00; 95%CI 1.02 - 3.91; p = 0.04) andliving alone (OR = 1.86; 95%CI 1.04 - 3.30; p = 0.03); and negatively associated with malnutrition (OR = 0.36; 95%CI 0.17 - 0.76; p = 0.01). Among seniors who have adequate consumption of fruit it was observed an increased intake of fibers (p = 0.03), vitamin A (p &lt; 0.01), vitamin C (p &lt; 0.01), potassium (p &lt; 0.01) and magnesium (p &lt; 0.01). Although, there was no significant association between energy and macronutrients (p &gt; 0.05). CONCLUSION: The consumption of fruit was influenced by socio-demographic factors and nutritional status, affecting the higher consumption of fiber, vitamin A and C, minerals like potassium and magnesium. Public policies that increased fruit consumption by the elderly could influence the health and quality of life of older people.</p

Dietary patterns and associated factors among the elderly

<div><p>Abstract The aim of the present study was to identify dietary patterns among the elderly, and associate the same with sociodemographic characteristics, health and lifestyle. A cross-sectional study was carried out with a non-probabilistic sample of 295 elderly residents of both genders of the city of São Caetano do Sul, São Paulo, Brazil, who were users of public health units. Dietary patterns were identified considering 44 food items identified through 24-hour dietary recall. Factor analysis by the principal components method was used, adopting loads greater than 0.25 as the cut-off point, followed by Varimax orthogonal rotation. The associations were analyzed by the linear regression method, with variables with p<0.20 in univariate regression selected, and those with p<0.05 maintained in the multivariate model. There was a greater percentage of elderly females (85.1%) and those aged 60-69 years (46.4%). Three dietary patterns were identified: the "traditional" pattern was associated with the male gender (β=0.59, p<0.001) and physically active individuals (β=0.39, p=0.020); the "Pastas, pork and sweets" pattern was associated with the male gender (β=0.38, p=0.025) and retired individuals (β=0.55, p=0.017); and the "Coffee with milk and bread and butter" pattern was associated with an age of 80 years or older (β=0.55, p=0.004) and elderly persons who had difficulty chewing (β=0.38, p=0.013). The dietary patterns identified show that the elderly tend to maintain similar eating habits to the Brazilian population in general, and that diet changes to a similar degree as health and life style conditions.</p></div