Some nutritional habits of elderlies in Tehran

Since the promotion of healthy nutrition behaviors can have a significant effect on disease prevention, this study examines some nutritional habits of the elderly in Tehran, the capital of Iran. This was a cross-sectional study with a sample of 400 elderly people over 60 years of age who were randomly selected by cluster sampling from 5 areas of Tehran (north, south, center, east, and west) in 2016. The data collection tool was a questionnaire including demographic information and nutritional section of the "Healthy lifestyle questionnaire in Iranian elderly" which questions people's eating habits, completed by the elderly. The nutrition part has 14 questions, in which the possible score range is 14- 64 and a higher score indicates a more favorable nutrition status. The mean score of healthy nutrition behaviors in males and females was 32.9±4.7 and 31.6±5.8 respectively, in which the difference was statistically significant (p<0.05) and there was not a significant difference by education, marital status, and type of coexistence (p>0.05). Less than half of the elderly, in both male (%42) and female (%46) groups, used boiled food and most of them did not use oil (%95), and %59 used both white and red meat. Sixty percent reported medium (6 to 8 glasses) consumption of water per day and 40% reported medium (two pieces of bread) daily intake of bread. About half of both groups reported low consumption of milk and beans and only 11% of Women and %25 of men reported a high level of fruit and vegetable consumption. There were some unhealthy eating habits such as low water consumption and low daily intake of fruits & vegetables and milk that were observed in the majority of elderlies and elderly women suffer poorer nutritional status than men. Suitable interventional programs regarding the findings are recommended.