Consumption of food products by the elderly living in different environments of the Warsaw region, Poland
Kozlowska, K.; Wierzbicka, E.; Brzozowska, A.; Roszkowski, W.
Journal of Nutrition Health and Aging 6(1): 27-30
2002
ISSN/ISBN: 1279-7707 PMID: 11917885 Document Number: 548190
The aim of the study was to compare qualitatively the intake of food groups by the elderly living in urban and rural areas, with regard to the place of living and sex, in Poland, in 1999. Fifty-six subjects living in Warsaw (urban area) and 142 in villages (rural area), who were born during 1919-24, participated in the study. A 3-day record method was used to collect nutritional data. The subjects living in Warsaw consumed more often milk, meat, fish, fruit and their products, as well as fats and oils. Less than 50% of the elderly living in either rural or urban areas ate eggs and fish. Consumption of fruit and its products was also low in the villages (47%). Meat and meat products were consumed more often by elderly men, whereas milk, fruit and their products were eaten more often by women (in rural area only). Consumption of specific food items also differed between the analysed living areas; milk, yoghurt and cheese were eaten more often by the residents of Warsaw, however, the intake of cream was significantly higher in the villages. The intake of red meat and meat products was similar, but poultry was included into the diet of 24% of the elderly in the rural area, significantly less than in Warsaw (34%). It also appeared that butter and mixed fats were more common among the elderly in Warsaw, whereas lard, pork fat and margarine were more popular in the villages. Food choice in the rural area was of poorer quality.