ABSTRACT

Adequate nutrition and good lifestyle are important determinants of health in older persons in order to reduce risk of many degenerative disease. This study was carried out on older persons in Etinan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State to assess their nutritional status and cardiovascular risk factors. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select the 373 older persons (comprising of 167 males and 206 females). Data on personal information, socio-economic, dietary habits, cardiovascular risk factors, 24-hour diet recall, food frequency, and anthropometric measurements were obtained using a well-structured questionnaire. Data on anthropometric measurements were analyzed using WHO reference while blood pressure were obtain using NHS references. Data generated from the questionnaires were analyzed using international business machinestatistical package for service solution (IBM-SPSS) Windows version 22.0. Results from the study revealed that slightly more than half (55.2%) ofthe older persons were females while 44.8% were males. More than half(65.4%) ofthem were aged between 60-65 years and 30.8% of them had their tertiary education. Some (26.3%) and (22.5%) earned less than N5,000 and between N5,0,00-N10,000 monthly respectively. Some (42.4%) of the older persons ate 3 times a day while 41.0% of them ate 2 times a day. Slightly above half (55.0%) skipped meals while some (31.9%) and (11.8%) skipped lunch and breakfast, respectively. Some (34.9%) ofthe older persons ate when they were hungry. A few (12.9%) of the older persons smoked daily (7.0%). Majority (81.0%) of the older persons took between 0-3 teaspoons ofsugar in hot drinks added to food daily. However, majority (83.9%) of them engaged in physical activity such as walking, washing and running. Result from the study revealed that 42.9% ofthe older persons had normal BMI status, 29.2% were overweight, 15.8% were obese while 7.0% were underweight. However, frequency of physical exercise was seen to be significantly related (X2 44.278, p = 0.000) to the BMI status of the older persons. The more physical exercise they engage, the more normal their BMI. Result further showed that there was a significant relationship (X2 = 70.373, p = 0.000) between frequency of smoking and their blood pressure. In addition, frequency of fried food consumption was also found to be related (X2 = 42.191, p = 0.001) to blood pressure. The older persons are advised against intake of fried foods and sugary foods. Also, smoking and intake of alcohol should be reduced while the older persons are advised to engage more in physical exercise.