Nutritional Status and Dietary Diversity: A Community-based Assessment among Elderly Residents of Budge Budge II...

Aging makes elderly people vulnerable to malnutrition; factors such as feeding difficulty, reduced mobility, psychological distress, being widowed, illiteracy, poverty, and poor access to health and social services further aggravate the condition. Decreased nutrition is one of the major factors that often go undiagnosed; hence, the diet must include a variety of foods for proper nutrition. The objectives of the study were to determine the nutritional status of elderly residents and to assess the dietary diversity among them.

A community-based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among elderly participants residing under the selected subcenters of Budge Budge II block, West Bengal, over 3 months. A total of 210 elderly participants were selected through multistage sampling. Dietary diversity was measured using the Individual Dietary Diversity Score and nutritional status using the Mini Nutritional Assessment scale. ANOVA and independent sample t-tests were done to see any difference in the mean dietary diversity score. Binary logistic regression for nutritional status was performed, considering P < 0.05 to determine the association.

Among 210 participants, 7.1% were malnourished, 48.6% were at risk of malnutrition, while 44.3% were normal. Currently, unmarried and morbid elderly are at higher risk of being malnourished. The mean dietary diversity score was 6.07 ± 0.65. Significant differences were found in age group, gender, marital status, addiction, education level, socioeconomic status, food preferences, and social assistance. With increasing dietary diversity, nutritional status score also increases.

Nutritional clinics should be set up at the primary health center/community health center level to provide a more detailed evaluation, regular follow-up, and dietary intervention for reversing the situation.