A medical anthropological perspective on the relationship between malnutrition and the subsistence economy: the prevalence of undernutrition and obesity among elderly farmers

Abstract

Objective: In this study, the relationship between malnutrition in the elderly population and the agriculture subsistence economy was examined.Methods: The study was conducted on two groups (farmers and non-farmers) aged 65 and over living in the province of Hatay, Southern Turkey. Anthropometric measurements of 111 (67 males, 44 females) in the farmer group (Group 1) and 89 (41 males, 48 females) in the non-farmer group (Group 2) were taken and their nutritional status was determined. The stature and body weight of the elderly who accepted to participate in the study were measured following international procedures and then body mass index (BMI) values were calculated.Results: In our sample, both groups had a low rate of undernourishment (Group 1 %2.7; Group 2 %1.1); however, overweight (Group 1 %38.7; Group 2 %32.6) and obesity (Group 1 %35.1; Group 2 %40.5) were more common. Although the prevalence of “overweight + obese” was higher in females in studies of the elderly, the contrary was observed in the farmer group, where the frequency rate was higher in favor of males. In the non-farmer group, results consistent with the general pattern were obtained.Conclusion: Due to daily lives and activity levels of women who live by farming, it has been found that the obesity prevalence in females has declined below that of males, indicating that the gender-based obesity pattern (females>males) in the general population is not valid in the farmer group.