Eating habits of the elderly

Izhodišča: Prehrana je pomemben del zdravega življenjskega sloga, ki ohranja in krepi zdravje, zmanjšajo se kronične bolezni, prezgodnja umrljivost ter podaljša se starostnikova neodvisnost. Na zdrav način prehranjevanja starostnikov imajo pomemben vpliv njihove prehrambene navade. Z raziskavo smo želeli ugotoviti kakšne so prehranske navade starejših ali se starostniki prehranjujejo zdravo ter pojavnost kroničnih obolenj. Metodologija: V raziskavi smo uporabili deskriptivno metodo dela. Vključenih je bilo 40 starostnikov, ki živijo v lastnem gospodinjstvu na območju Haloz. Rezultati: Rezultati raziskave so pokazali, da se starostniki dokaj nezdravo prehranjujejo, skoraj polovica (48 %) je čezmerno prehranjenih in vse to pogosto vodi v razvoj bolezni. Med kroničnimi obolenji starostnikov se najpogosteje pojavljajo zvišan krvni tlak, bolečina, srčno-žilne bolezni in obolenje sklepov. Ugotovili smo, da se skoraj vsi (90 %) starostniki prehranjuje predvsem z doma pridelano hrano, kar je bilo tudi za pričakovati glede na njihovo prebivališče. Sklep: Zaradi omejenega znanja starostnikov o zdravem načinu prehranjevanja je pomembno zdravstveno-vzgojno delo s strani zdravstvenih delavcev. Pomembno je, da uravnotežena prehrana ustreza prehrambenim navadam in, da zagotavlja dobro počutje. Prehranske navade se od starostnika do starostnika razlikujejo in jih je potrebno spremeniti ali izboljšati, če ne ustrezajo prehranskim priporočilom.Premises: Nutrition is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, it sustains and improves health, reduces chronic diseases and mortality rate, and prolongs independence in the old age. Eating habits influence a healthy nutrition of elderly people. In the thesis, eating habits of elderly people are investigated: if they are healthy and if they are correlated with chronic diseases. Methodology: A descriptive method is used. 40 elderly people, living in their own household in the Haloze area, are participating in the research. Results: Results show that eating habits of elderly people are rather unhealthy, almost half of them (48%) are overweight which often leads to illnesses. Most frequent chronic diseases of elderly people are: hypertension, chronic pain, cardiovascular diseases and joint illnesses. As expected regarding the examinees residence, the research shows that most of the old people (90%) eat predominantly home-grown food. Conclusion: Due to limited knowledge of elderly people about healthy nutrition, the medical education is a very import task of health workers. Well-balanced diet must meet the eating habits and ensure well-being. Eating habits differ between elderly people - they should be changed or improved if they do not agree with nutrition recommendations