Food consumption behavior of the elderly with hypertension in Moo 2, Ban Ped Sub-district, Muang District, Khon Kaen Province

Abstract

This study was a descriptive study that aimed to study food consumption behavior of the elderly with hypertension in the community, Ban Ped Sub-district, Muang District, Khon Kaen Province. The population consisted of 44 elderly over 60 years with hypertension admitted to the Health Promoting Hospital in Ban Ped Subdistrict, Mueang District, Khon Kaen Province. The data collection tools consisted of a questionnaire on food consumption behavior of the elderly with hypertension. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. The results showed that the elderly with high blood pressure had a moderate level of dietary habits at 100 percent. The most appropriate food consumption behavior was abstaining from alcoholic beverages such as beer, pickles, liquor, and wort at 86.4%, followed by eating vegetables such as fresh vegetables, boiled vegetables, or eat a diet consisting of vegetables every day amounting to 4-5 cups of fresh vegetables or 1 dish per meal or 3 cups of cooked/boiled vegetables or half a plate per meal at 72.7%. The food consumption behavior that was not appropriate, which has the highest, was regularly eating chili paste, such as mackerel chili paste, jaew, and shrimp chili paste at 70.5, followed by eating local food such as Esan curry regularly at 61.4%. In addition, this study shows that older people with hypertension still eat seasoning, which contains a lot of sodium. Therefore, there should be an educational program that helps the elderly and their relatives better understand the selection of desirable ingredients for cooking for the elderly.