| Abstract [eng] |
Justification: The World Health Organization has recognized that the aging population and their lifestyles and diets are a growing challenge to the demographics and economies of all countries in the world. There is no doubt that the consumption of healthy food products, good dietary habits and adequate knowledge of nutrition are among the most important factors in maintaining good health of the elderly. The aim: To evaluate nutrition habits and knowledge of nutrition of elderly of Lithuanian The objects: 1. To determine dietary habits of elderly of Lithuania. 2. To determine the knowledge of nutrition of elderly of Lithuania. 3. To assess dietary habits and knowledge of nutrition of elderly of Lithuanian depending on sociodemographic factors. 4. To evaluate whether the dietary habits of elderly of Lithuania comply with the recommendations of a healthy diet. Methods: The study, which was carried out in 2019 – 2020, is a part of an Actual nutrition, dietary and physical activity habits and knowledge of nutrition and physical activity of adults and elderly of Lithuania study. Survey questionnaire, which was used in earlier national studies was used to evaluate dietary habits. A total of 337 elderly (age 65–75 years) of Lithuania were surveyed about their diatary habits and knowledge of nutrition. Statistical analysis was performed using ,,IBM SPSS Statistics 20.0’’ (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). The reliability of data difference was determined by Pearson χ2 test and was considered statistically significant if p ≤ 0,05. Results and conclusions: It was determined that 29,4% of elderly choose products with respect to taste and 28,8 % with respect to health improvement/disease prevention, only 58,8 % consume vegetables and fruits daily. 48,7 % of elderly stated that they consume cereal products every day and multiple times a day, about a third of them consume dairy products as well as meat and meat products daily. 43,0 % of elderly consume fish and fish products very rarely – 1–2 times a month. Still a large proportion of elderly add salt to already prepared food, only about half of them consume iodized salt. Women and those with a higher education are more likely to have better dietary habits. Only one in ten people know how many times it is recommended (how many servings) to consume fruits and vegetables a day, and only about a third of the population know that they need to avoid saturated fats and have chosen the right statement about trans fats. Only less than half of the population is aware of the meaning of the "keyhole" symbol on the labels of some foods. Women and respondents with higher education have a better knowledge of nutrition. Therefore, the dietary habits of not all elderly Lithuanians comply with the recommendations of a healthy diet and their knowledge of nutrition is also insufficient. |
