Nutritional intake and recreational physical activity in healthy elderly women living in the community.

PURPOSE

Recreational physical activity, which increases energy expenditure, may help to maintain proper food intake. To compare the nutritional intake of inactive, active and very active healthy elderly women.

METHODS

Eighty-two women were recruited in the community. Participants had to be > or = 65 years and in good health (< or = 2 drugs, < or = 1 major illness, < or = 1 surgical operation, no disability in basic or instrumental activities of daily living and no cognitive impairment). We compared food intakes between the 26 inactive (age 73.9 +/- 7.7 y, BMI 24.3 +/- 3.2 kg/m2), the 29 active (age 71.5 +/- 5.6 y, BMI 23.2 +/- 3.5 kg/m2) and the 27 very active (age 70.9 +/- 4.8 y, BMI 24.3 +/- 3.2 kg/m2) healthy women. The nutritional intake was evaluated by a three-day food record. Macronutrient, mineral and vitamin content were derived from tables. Self-reported type, duration and frequency of recreational physical activities during the last month were converted into energy expenditures.

RESULTS

Despite high levels of energy intake (mean 1743.9 kcal/d), mean intakes of calcium, vitamin B1, E and folic acid were lower than Recommended Dietary Allowances (-26.2%, -12%, -50.8%, -2.4% respectively) in the whole sample. There were no significant differences of energy intake and quantities of nutrients between the groups except for calcium intake which was significantly higher in inactive women (p=0.04).

CONCLUSION

Active healthy elderly women do not have a better nutritional profile than their inactive peers.