NUTRITION EDUCATION

Nutrition Education amongst the Elderly in Home Healthcare

Abstract

In this study we try to explore the concept of Nutrition Education among elderly in a holistic context. The main focus of the research is on Nutrition Education and its relation with “elderly of United States. The research also analyzes many aspects of Nutrition Education and tries to gauge its effect on “the elders of United States.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract2

Introduction4

Description and Analysis4

Nutrition Knowledge Scale6

Nutrition Attitude Scale6

Nutrition Behavior Scale7

Conclusion7

References9

Nutrition Education amongst the Elderly in Home Healthcare

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to understand nutrition knowledge, attitude, and behavior in the adults. Results indicated that adults' knowledge on "relationship between diet and disease" and "comparison of foods in terms of specific nutrients" is acceptable. However, they lack knowledge on "daily serving requirements" and "weight and weight loss". Although they recognize the importance of nutrition, nutrition was not the major concern of food selection. Significant differences were found among gender and age groups. Females of most age groups are better than males in many aspects of nutrition knowledge, attitude and behavior except emotional and external eating behavior.

As for nutrition behavior, prime and middle adults are better than young adults. Nutrition knowledge and attitude of adults in urban areas is generally better than those in suburban and remote areas. However, adults in urban areas perform "emotional and external cued eating" more frequently than those in suburban and remote areas. There are significantly positive correlations among nutrition knowledge, attitude and behavior; and attitude has stronger correlation with behavior than knowledge does. Therefore, to achieve desirable eating behaviors, the adult nutrition education program should include knowledge of what constitutes a balanced diet and what constitutes being overweight. Proper strategies to enhance the behavioral motivation of healthy food selection must also not be neglected.

Description and Analysis

Eating patterns and dietary behavior of the people of United States have changed throughout the past two decades. There is a swift from malnutrition to imbalanced nutrient intake. The first Nutrition and Health Survey in United States conducted between 1993 and 1996 showed that the American people tended to consume too much meat, but not enough grains, vegetables and dairy foods. The imbalanced dietary pattern was thought to be the cause of the increasing prevalence of obesity and metabolic diseases (Brinberg, 2005). What actions to take in order to improve eating behavior and build a healthy dietary pattern to prevent diseases are, therefore, important nutrition issues in America?

In order to design an appropriate nutrition intervention program, it is important to understand the factors associated with personal food choices, such as nutrition knowledge, attitude and skill. In United States, the proportion of elderly in the general population continues to increase. People over age of 65 now account for 16.7% of the population, while they represented only 2-3% before the industrial revolution. Forecasts for 2050 are alarming. In this horizon, over a third of the population will be aged over 60 years, against one in five in ...