ABSTRACT

Dietary practices, physical activity level and anthropometric status among the elderly requires a nuanced approach that considers individual health conditions, dietary preferences, and lifestyle factors. Their impact on anthropometric status in elderly individuals becomes increasingly crucial. Dietary practices among the elderly are influenced by a range of factors including metabolic changes, chronic diseases, and socio-economic conditions. Anthropometric status, encompassing measures like body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and body fat percentage, provides essential insights into nutritional status and health risks. A descriptive cross-sectional research design was used out to determine the dietary practices, anthropometric indices and physical activity of the elderly. The sample size of 224 respondents was selected using selected using a multi-stage sampling procedure and Kish Leslie formula. A well- structured questionnaire was used to obtain the socio-economic and demographic data which shows that (79%) are aged between 65-74 years. Majority of the respondents were traders (63.4%) and farmers (18.8%). 24 hour dietary recall shows that  (60.3%) consumed 4 and 5 food groups while few number of persons consumed (6,7% and 33%) of  ≥ 6 food groups and ≤ 3 food groups respectively, dietary habits result shows that  (85.7%) of the respondents eats 3 times a day while  (13.8% and 0.4%) eat 2 and ≥ 4 times a day respectively and (79%) sometimes consume fruits and vegetables, (15.6%) always while (5.4%) rarely consume fruits and vegetables. mini nutritional assessment data shows that  (70.1%) had moderate decrease in their food intake while a few number (28.6% and 1.3%) had no decrease and severe decrease in food intake in the past 3 months respectively, anthropometric data(Body mass index reveals that (41.5%) had 18.5-24.9 kg/m² which indicates  normal weight, (42.4%) had 25-29.9 kg/m² indicating pre-obesity, (6.7%) had 30-34.9 kg/m² indicating stage 1 obesity and (0.4%) had 35-39.9 kg/m² indicating stage 2 obesity while Waist-hip ratio reveals that (43.8%) of women had a higher risk of obesity assessing their body fat whilst men had (0.4%) higher risk of obesity), International Physical Activity Questionnaire(IPAQ) shows that only 14.8% that met the WHO recommended physical activity level for vigorous activity. The correlation coefficients (r) for dietary pattern, physical activity and anthropometric status shows that street food consumption had a positive weak relationship related (p=.1) to body mass index (r = .111).  Longitudinal study should be carried out to assess the efficacy and sustainability of interventions over time.