Estado nutricional de idosas praticantes e não praticantes de atividade física e fatores associados

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Population aging is a worldwide reality and deserves attention due to the biopsychosocial changes that occur with the elderly. Among the changes, the nutritional status is highlighted, as it directly influences the quality of life of the elderly. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the nutritional status and associated factors in elderly women practitioners and non practitioners of physical activity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study, carried out with elderly women from the Open University program in Free Time at the State University of Paraiba and elderly women from living groups in the city of Campina Grande, Paraiba, Brazil, in the year of 2015. The sample consisted of 71 elderly women, 35 physical activity practitioners (PAP) and 36 non-physical activity practitioners (NPAP). Among the elderly women practicing physical activity, those who did not attend to at least 75% of the program activities in the last 6 months were excluded from the study. Among those who did not practice physical activity, those who scored less than 9.11 on the Modified Baecke's Questionnaire for the Elderly were included. The variables studied were body mass index (BMI), hand grip strength (HGS), weight gain and weight loss in the last 12 months, basic activities of daily living (ADLs), number of falls in the last 12 months, calf circumference (CC), age, socioeconomic status, number of chronic noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), depression and cognitive status. In the statistical analysis, a Gamma regression model was adjusted, which belongs to the Generalized Linear Models (GLM) class. A significance level of 5% (p <0.05) was adopted. RESULTS: 35 PAP and 36 NPAP elderly women were evaluated. Factors associated with the nutritional status of the elderly PAP were WC and the number of NCDs. Among the elderly NPAP, the factors associated with BMI were WC and CC. CONCLUSION: It was possible to observe that the factors influencing the nutritional status of elderly who are PAP and NPAP are different. Thus, it is known the importance of evaluating the factors influencing nutritional status in the practicing and non-practicing groups of physical activity separately, due to the heterogeneity and peculiarity of the elderly population. Given its diversity and specificity, this population needs to be evaluated under different perspectives, in order that the demands of each group are better identified, and it is possible to intervene in a well-founded and efficient way.