Dietary patterns of older adults and octogenarians in Chile: A secondary analysis of the 2016–2017 National Health Survey
Abstract
Introduction. There are few studies in Latin America describing the dietary patterns of older adults, especially the octogenarian population. Low consumption of fruits, vegetables, dairy products, legumes and meats has been reported in this group. The objective of this study was to analyze the dietary patterns of the older adult and octogenarian population with respect to the Dietary Guidelines for Chile. Methodology. An analytical study based on a secondary analysis of a cross-sectional study, with probabilistic sampling of national representativeness, using the database of the 2016-2017 National Health Survey of Chile. Results. A total of 1,802 individuals were analyzed, of whom 1,522 were between 60 and 79 years of age, and 280 were octogenarians. Of the octogenarians, 41.1% were overweight. Compared to the 60 to 79-year-old group, octogenarians showed lower alcohol consumption (p < 0.001), oatmeal and whole grains (p < 0.05), and fish (p < 0.01), but higher dairy consumption (p < 0.01). In addition, significant associations were observed between the conditions of octogenarians and water consumption (OR: 0.69; CI 95%: 0.48-0.97), alcohol (OR: 1.64; CI 95%: 1.24-2.17), fish (OR: 0.36; CI 95%: 0.18-0.65), years of study (OR: 0.38; CI 95%: 0.20-0.68) and tobacco consumption (OR: 4.25; CI 95%: 2.47-7.96). Discussion. The study’s results show that overweight octogenarians have a dietary pattern characterized by a lower consumption of oatmeal, whole grains and fish, and a higher consumption of dairy products compared to older adults aged 60 to 79 years. However, none of the analyzed groups followed the nutritional recommendations established for the different food groups. Conclusions. Overweight octogenarians have a dietary pattern characterized by lower consumption of whole grains and fish, and higher consumption of dairy products compared to older adults aged 60 to 79 years. However, neither group meets the recommendations established in Chile’s Dietary Guidelines.
References
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