Nutrition counseling needs in a geriatric population
Templeton, C.L.
Geriatrics 33(4): 59-66
1978
ISSN/ISBN: 0016-867X PMID: 631565 Document Number: 134405
Nutrition counselling needs were studied using a questionnaire for 680 persons 55 years old and over who were participating in a Pilot Geriatric Arthritis Programme at the University of Michigan Medical Centre. Of those persons 65% were overweight and 5% were underweight. Marital status, formal education, yearly income and living arrangement were all significantly related to bodyweight. Of their diets 71% were inadequate in 1 or more nutrients, 57% were inadequate in calcium, 22% in vitamin C and 34% in vitamin A. Income and education were directly related to the adequacy of vitamins A and C, though the diets of highly educated persons were as likely to be inadequate in Ca as the diets of persons with less education. Of all persons 25% reported that they were on special diets, but only 19% of them received their diet from a dietitian; 81% ate 3 meals a day, 17% ate 2 meals and 3% ate only 1 meal; 36% wanted information about a balanced diet.