Analysis of consumption of omega 3 source foods by participants of social groups

Abstract Objective: To verify the consumption of omega 3 source foods by participants of social groups. Method: a cross-sectional, descriptive analytical study was carried out with 850 older participants of social groups of the Older Adult Care Coordination (or DATI) in a city in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, through a questionnaire containing sociodemographic variables and the consumption of omega 3 source foods. Data were analyzed using the R 2.15.1 language and using the Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests. The level of significance used in the tests was p≤0.05. Results: The results showed that older women have a habit of consuming more omega 3 source foods than men, such as oils, dark green vegetables, seeds, fish and nuts, and people with greater purchasing power consume more products with omega 3. Conclusion: Families with greater purchasing power used more expensive sources of omega 3 fatty acid, and the consumption of these products did not differ significantly in terms of age, BMI, marital status and whether the individual lived alone or with others.