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

Abstract

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.

A survey of nutrition and health status of solitary and non-solitary elders in Taiwan

“…Nutrition directly affects the physiological and biological processes of aging; it also has an effect on the risk of developing acute and chronic diseases. Tse reported that in the Chinese communities in Hong Kong, 40% of the older persons lived alone and ate alone on a regular basis (22). These solitary elders ate few fruits and vegetables each day, drank inadequate fluids, and ate no diary products in the form of bean curd products.…”

“…These solitary elders ate few fruits and vegetables each day, drank inadequate fluids, and ate no diary products in the form of bean curd products. Forty-eight percent were obese or overweight (22). Therefore, these frail older adults were at risk for poor nutrition, and frequently experienced a worsening health-related quality of life (23).…”