Relationship between Home Food Environment, Dietary Intake and Health Status of the Elderly in Ledzokuku Krowor Municipality

Abstract

Background Population ageing is the success story of the 21st century. As a result of population ageing, the world is facing an unexpected demographic change. Per the 2010 Population and Housing Census, the aged (60+ years) constitute 6.8% of Ghana’s population. The home represents the physical environment where the elderly spend majority of their time. The home food environment therefore affects the eating habits of the elderly based on the availability of healthy and unhealthy foods. This study seeks to explore the relationship between home food environment, dietary intake and health status of the aged (60+ years) in Ledzokuku-Krowor Municipality (LEKMA) Methods This study was an observational cross-sectional study conducted in Ledzokuku-Krowor Municipality. Three hundred and fifty-five (355) elderly persons aged 60+ were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to examine factors associated with dietary intake in home environments with health outcome such as obesity and hypertension. Analysis was done using Stata version 15. Results Three hundred and fifty-five (355) participants were interviewed for the study. Majority of participants were female 200 (56.4%) female. Healthy foods like fruits and vegetables were consumed 3-4 times in a week. Participants rarely consumed unhealthy foods like pastries and fizzy drinks. The average frequency of consumption of fruits per week was 10.18 with a minimum of 0 and a maximum of 53 categories of fruits consumed. In addition, the average frequency of consumption of vegetables per week was 32.23 with minimum of 2 and maximum of 94 categories of vegetables consumed The analysis indicated that 65.1% had normal weight whereas 14.4% were obese. Majority of the elderly who were obese were between the age group 60-60years. Majority (73%) of respondents perceived their health status as good, only a few (6%) perceived their health status as bad. The results showed that age was positively associated with BMI of respondents. Those who had healthy food environment were 1.97 times more likely to perceive their health as good as compared to those in unhealthy food environment. Conclusion The study results revealed that majority of respondents had healthy food environment; a considerable number of the elderly were obese. In addition, BMI of respondents were associated with fats consumption. Majority of the respondents perceived their health as good. In addition, most of the elderly were hypertensive The study also showed that majority of the respondents had healthy home food environment, and there was a positive association between frequency of intake of healthy food and availability of health foods at home and self-perceived health status of the elderly.