Nutritional Status and Energy Expenditure in the Elderly in a Rural Community

Yoon, Heejung; Kwoun, Jinhee; Lee, Sungkook

Abstract

In this study, nutrient intake status and energy expenditure were examined to investigate the nutritional status of the elderly in a rural community. The results obtained by questionaries, the 24 hour recall method, and time-diary were as follows: The elderly men surveyed were 73.8 years old, on the average. The elderly women surveyed were 73.5 years old, on the average. The proportion of the elderly with diseases was 51.9%. Most of the subjects (86.1%) had a regular meal pattern of consuming three meals a day. The average daily energy intake of the rural elderly was much lower than the Korean RDA. The dietary assessment data showed that each energy intake of the males and the females was 79.5% and 84.3% of the RDA, respectively. The dietary intake of Ca, Fe, niacin, thiamin, and riboflavin was lower than the Korean RDA, and that of P and Vitamin C was adequate. The Fe intake was significantly different with respect to age and sex (p < 0.05). Although, in both elderly men and elderly women it decreased with age, the elderly men's intake was lower than the elderly women's. The heights of the elderly men and the elderly women was 159.7 cm and 147.5 cm, respectively, and the weights were 60.0 kg and 52.2 kg, respectively, and the BMI was in the moderate range. Heights significantly decreased with age (p < 0.05). According to daily living schedules, leisure time (11.0 hour) was the longest, physiological time (9.6 hours) was next, and work time (3.4 hours) was the shortest. Energy expenditure significantly decreased with age (p < 0.01). Energy intake also decreased with aging. Energy balance (energy expenditure/ energy intake) was 93.4% in elderly men and 104.0% in elderly women. Especially, in elderly men in the 65 to 74 age range, the energy balance was the lowest, and the nutrient intake was also much lower than that of elderly women.