[Aging, nutrition and social care. One "ABS" in Barcelona]

According to a report by the Spanish Society of Public Health and Sanitary Administration in 1998, the general population is undergoing demographic changes due to an increase in life span and a decrease in the birth rate. With an increase in age, there is a greater risk to suffer a nutritional deficit; constantly on the rise, poor nutrition leads to poor health among Europeans. The physical and mental health state of the elderly depends to a high degree on eating habits during one's entire adult life. On the other hand, as health professionals we are interested in knowing the availability of resources the elderly can avail themselves to in order to satisfy their needs for affection, love, acceptance, sense of belonging, identity and security; which is to say their social network. The objective of our study was to know the sociodemographical characteristics, the nutritional state and the social network for persons above 65 years of age in the "Eixample" District in Barcelona.