The effectiveness of nutritional education among women aged 60-85 on the basis of anthropometric parameters and lipid profiles.

BACKGROUND

After several years of experience with guiding of an original program on health-promoting nutritional education for women during menopause, which by inducing changes in nutritional behaviour resulted in many favorable health promoting effects, on request of the students of the Association of Third Age University, an original educational program “Comprehensive stimulation of senior citizens to activity” was developed out and implemented.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of four-month nutritional education and adjustments in diets of women aged 60-85, on the basis of the measurements of the selected lipid parameters in their blood tests

MATERIAL AND METHODS

This research project was joined by 37 female subjects aged 60-85, who are the members of the University of the Third Age in Szczecin, and whose average BMI was 31.7 kg/m2. Before the nutritional education commenced and after it was completed, the female subjects’ nutritional status was assessed (BMI, WC, WHR, WHtR) and the energy and nutritional value of their diets was examined based on the subjects’ regular journalkeeping. Keys’ atherogenic score in their diets were also computed.

RESULTS

The applied nutritional education led to changes in the energy and nutritional value of the female subjects’ diets, which specifically improved their anthropometric parameters and the resulting BMI, WC and WHtR parameters. This fact was also reflected in a substantial decrease of the glucose level and a substantial increase of HDL-C level in the blood of the examined female subjects, as well as in the improvements in the assessed parameters TC/HDL-C, LDL-C/ HDL-C, TG/HDL-C.

CONCLUSIONS

The analysis of the results allows to confirm, that the four-month nutritional education of elderly women resulted in changes of their erroneous dietary habits and an improvement in their nutrition.