Nutritional status and prevalence of chronic diseases among elderly in the countryside of Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the factors affecting the nutritional status of socially active elderly in a municipality in the countryside of Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. METHODS: A cross-sectional study where 284 subjects participated voluntarily. A structured individual questionnaire containing questions relating to eating habits was administered and anthropometric data (weight, height, waist circumference) were collected. RESULTS: 60.3% of men and 62.5% of women were overweight. Based on the assessment of waist circumference (WC) there was increased risk for developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) in 98.5% of men and 92.5% women. Most women (56.9%) reported some solid drug use, whereas among men (52.5%), most reported no medicine consumption. No significant difference between the different nutritional status and dietary habits investigated was observed. Among married, overweight was found in 47.1% of men and 35.6% of women. CONCLUSION: The majority of the elderly population was overweight and waist circumference was large among men and women. No association between nutritional status and the number of meals, water intake, daily intake of fruits and vegetables, type of milk consumed, weekly consumption of meat, candies, fried foods and legumes was observed.