Nutrition Literacy of Elderly People in Health Region 5

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate nutrition literacy and the association between personal factors and nutrition literacy among elderly people who participated in the ‘Quality elderly club’ in Health Region 5.  Three hundred and nine elderly people recruited from the quality elderly club were purposively selected for a cross-sectional descriptive study. Weight, height, and waist circumference were measured in all participants. Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference were used to define the nutritional status of the elderly. The nutrition literacy level of participants was examined using a validated nutrition literacy questionnaire.  Results: 46.6 and 45.3% of the participants had moderate and low nutrition literacy levels, respectively. Using simple correlation, individual factors that were significantly associated with nutrition literacy were: age (p<0.05), an education level (p<0.01), reading and writing ability (p<0.01). Participants who had normal nutritional status had significantly lower scores in interactive nutrition literacy than overweight and obese participants. There was no difference between the nutritional status of any other literacy scores. Accessibility to media significantly associated with nutrition literacy, using simple correlation, were: print media (p<0.01), internet (p<0.01), and line group (p<0.01). The finding from the present study could be beneficial for developing nutrition media, selecting media channels, and designing the learning process to increase nutrition literacy among the elderly for adequate nutrient intakes and preventing risks of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).