Nutritional status of the elderly V). Dietary and biochemical data and anthropometry of noninstitutionalized elderly in Perugia at the eleventh year follow-up.

The nutritional status of 93 noninstitutionalized elderly of the city of Perugia, mostly of them examined longitudinally, was assessed at the eleventh year follow-up. Diet is still rather rich and unbalanced. Alcohol intake in men is very high. Biological dietary errors have an impact on the nutritional status, particularly for folates, of the individual. But in this regard it is interesting to note that in some cases vitamin and mineral nutriture has improved at this follow-up. In addition the distribution of malnutrition is rather different from that of the previous follow-up. As on previous occasions, no correlation was observed between vitamin intake and corresponding nutritional status (with the exception of riboflavin). Obesity is rather common among women; men present a higher muscular area and hand muscular strength. The clinical evaluation of nutritional status evidences principally changes which are mostly ascribable to old age. Among the pathologies, chronic ischemic heart disease, hypertension, chronic respiratory diseases, osteoarthrosis and diabetes occur most frequently.