Body image satisfaction, nutritional status, anthropometric indicators and quality of life among the elderly

Abstract Objective: to determine the prevalence of body image satisfaction in elderly subjects, as well as its relationship with nutritional status, anthropometric indicators and quality of life. Method: a cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study was carried out with elderly individuals from Primary Care units (Family Health Strategy) from all the health districts of Porto Alegre, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The variables studied were: sociodemographic (gender; age; marital status and schooling), anthropometric (weight; height; body mass index; arm, calf, waist and hip circumference; waist-hip ratio and triceps skinfold), nutritional (Mini Nutritional Assessment), and clinical (quality of life; body image satisfaction). The Stunkard Silhouettes Scale, the Mini Nutritional Assessment and the Flanagan quality of life scale were applied. For data analysis, logistic regression (five steps) was performed with the Conditional Backward method. Results: a total of 532 elderly users (68.96 (7.14) years) were evaluated, mostly women (64.8%) who were dissatisfied with their body image (71.7%). The predictors of body image satisfaction were: eutrophic/underweight body mass index, eutrophy/insufficient arm circumference, and higher mean quality of life scores. Conclusion: in general, a low prevalence of body image satisfaction was identified among the elderly. Subjects with lower body mass index, smaller arm circumference measures and better quality of life had a greater chance of being satisfied with their body image.