ABSTRACT

This study assessed the dietary habits and anthropometric status of elderly men in Umuahia South Local Government Area, Abia State The study was a cross-sectional study. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select a total of 440 elderly men. Data on socio-economic and demographic/economic characteristics, dietary pattern, physical activity and anthropometric status of the elderly men were collected using structured and validated questionnaire. The IBM SPSS version 22.0 computer programme was used to analyze the data. Data obtained were described using frequency and percentage. Pearson correlation was used to analyze the relationship between the dietary pattern and anthropometric status of the respondents. Significant relationship was judged at p ≤ 0.05. Results from the study showed that many (70.5%) of the respondents were between 60-70 years. Some (31.8%) of the respondents had tertiary education while 34..5% of them are pensioners. More than half (56.6%) of the elderly men received a monthly maintenance allowance from their children and 61.7% earnedaboveN50,000 in a month. Some (37.3%) skipped meals while many (80.0%) of them consume food only when they are hungry. From the anthropometric indices of the respondents showed that 3.6%wereunderweight while, 30.0% of them were overweight, 7.5% were obese. Meanwhile 33.3% of the elderly men were at risk of cardiovascular diseases. There was a significant negative relationship between number of times food is consumed and the BMI status of the respondents. Government intervention is needed to improve the quality of life of the elderly. Also, there should be organized nutrition education among the elderly on adequate diet. There is need for a functional policy on the care of the aged in Nigeria in order to improve their nutrition, health and general wellbeing.