Escolha, consumo alimentar e percepção sobre alimentação e saúde entre pessoas idosas

Abstract

The world population is aging, and it is known that lifestyle is a key factor for the quality of this process, and food can have great influence. Investigating the diet of individuals in order

to know "what they eat" and "how much they eat", as well as the influencing socio- demographic and lifestyle factors, is a relevant and usual tool in health-related studies. In

addition to these aspects, it is necessary to go beyond, investigating the reason why a person chooses their food, i.e. "why they eat". Investigating food and health status of the elderly is important to contribute to strategies and actions that enable a long life. This research was developed to verify the reasons for food choice and food consumption of older people and to

analyze the perception of participants about food, health, and longevity. This is a cross- sectional descriptive-exploratory study that used a mixed method (qualitative-quantitative).

Data collection initially occurred through interviews with elderly residents in the urban area of Alfenas/MG. The interview was conducted with 168 participants, all of whom provided sociodemographic, lifestyle, health, food and nutrition data. Subsequently, the interviewees provided answers to the items of the Food Choice Questionnaire and Food Frequency Questionnaire to collect information about food choice and consumption. The qualitative step was carried out with 18 individuals who talked about food, health, and longevity from guiding questions, and this was audio recorded. After finishing the interview, the participant was asked to indicate another eligible person for the research, thus adopting snowball sampling. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, adopting tests according to the normality of the data and a 5% significance level. The qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Of the total number of participants, 69.6% identified themselves as women and the mean age was 72.6+8.9 years. Most participants (54.8%) had a positive self-perception of their health status, but they perceived a worsening in their health status when comparing the current moment to the period one year ago (82.7%). Among the reasons investigated for food choice, health, natural content, and price emerged as the most important, and weight control as one of the least important. When comparing the reasons according to age, it was found that older people aged 60 to 69 years attributed greater importance to health and ethical concerns compared to those aged 80 years and older. The average energy intake of the participants was below the needs for the age group and a significant correlation was observed with gender, marital status, and self-reported depression/anxiety. According to the participants' perception, the following themes emerged as themes in the qualitative study: "Absolute value", "Multicausality", "Balance and

discipline", "Fatalism", and "Natural eating". Such findings associated with quantitative evidence may contribute to future guidelines and interventions that enable the development of strategies aimed at managing health through food and consequently improve the quality of life of older people.