Dietary intake pattern among elderly people in the urban Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh

Abstract

Introduction: The number of elderly people is increasing in Bangladesh due to the aggravating life expectancy. It is a matter of concern to ensure the health and nutritiona l status of elderly people. Dietary intake patterns and behavior are essential factors to ensure the health and nutritional status of elderly people. Thus, this study was conducted to assess the dietary intake pattern among elderly people. Objective: A descriptive type of cross-sectional study was conducted in urban Cox’s Bazar in Bangladeh among 175 respondents aged between 60 to 72 years. A semi-structured questionnaire was used for collecting socio-demographic and dietary intake-related information from the respondents. 24-hour recall and 7 days recall methods were used to collect dietary information. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. Results: More than three-fourths (76%) of the respondents were aged between 60 to 65 years. About three-fourths (72.6%) of the respondents used to take meals 3 times in 24 hours. Most of the respondents (59.4%) were taking rice 2-3 times a day. A total of 73.7%, 52.6% & 42.1% of the respondents regularly consumed food containing carbohydrates, protein, and fat regularly. Overall, it was found that only 21.1% of the respondents were practicing a healthy diet whereas the rest (78.9%) weren’t. Conclusion: It was found that the majority of the respondents are consuming an unhealthy diet whereas most of the respondents weren’t which is indicating the lack of nutritional knowledge among the elderly people. Thus, the dissemination of nutritional education can be recommended to encourage healthy eating among elderly people.