Dietary Pattern and Lifestyle adopted by Retirees in Port Harcourt Metropolis, Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

Occupational retirement is usually accompanied by substantial changes in dietary intake and lifestyle. Thus, this study assessed the dietary pattern and lifestyle of retirees in Port-Harcourt metropolis, Rivers State. Fourobjectives and research questions guided the study. The population consisted of 1500 retired civil servants in public ministries in Port Harcourt from 2017-2020. Simple random sampling technique was used to draw a sample size of 230 respondents from the study. Data were obtained using the questionnaire titled “Dietary Intake and Lifestyle of Retirees in Port Harcourt (QDILRPH) with three sections and eighteen research questions as the research instrument. The instrument was validated by three experts with a reliability coefficient of 0.61. The data were statistically analyzed using frequency and percentage and findings presented on charts and tables. The findings of the study revealed that majority of the respondents (66.7%) eats three times a day while half of the respondents (50%) indicated low salt intake. Half of the respondents skipped their breakfast sometimes while 66.96% carried out physical activity. A large proportion of the respondents (83.3%) indicated that they do not smoke and sometimes consume fatty foods. This study concludes that most of the retirees had poor eating habits in terms of skipping breakfast and consuming fatty foods with a good lifestyle in terms of smoking and physical activity. This therefore calls for nutritional sensitization, better support and care from family members so as to improve their dietary/eating patterns.