Abstract

This study investigated the anthropometric and biochemical indices, and the health and nutritional factors influencing the two indices among 194 middle-aged and elderly subjects (108 middle-aged and 86 elderly) residing in a medium sized city for more than 10 years. In the examination of their dietary habits, 8.3% of the middle-aged subjects and 14.0% of the elderly subjects had two meals a day, and more female subjects had two meals per day. Of the subjects who ate meals at regular times, 75.0% were middle-aged and 79.1% were elderly, and the degree of irregularity of meals was greater for female subjects. The study of the dietary behavior of the subjects indicated that 71.3% and 66.3% of the middle-aged and elderly, respectively responded that the amount of food in each meal was sufficient. The subjects ate alone comprised 19.7% of the middle-aged females and 31.5% of the elderly females. The prevalence of smoking among the subjects was 28.1% for the middle-aged, 18.8% for the elderly male and 7.4% for the elderly females. The percentage of the subjects who drank alcohol was 34.4% of the middle-aged males and 13.2% of the middle-aged females. Slightly less than half of the subjects exercised more than once a week, with the male subjects showing a higher rate than the female subjects. The average body mass indices (BMI) were 24.5 and 24.6 for the middle-aged male and female, respectively, and 22.6 and 24.0 for the elderly male and female, respectively. BMI assessment showed that underweight subjects (BMI < 20) comprised 3.7% of the middle-aged, 14.0% of the elderly, and that 40.7% of the middle-aged and 24.4% of the elderly were overweight (25 < BMI < 30); and 0.9% of the middle-aged and 1.2% of the elderly were classified as obese (BMI > or = 30). A waist/hip ratio (WHR) greater than 0.8 was found in 89.5% of the middle-aged females and 90.7% of the elderly females, showing high abdominal fat deposition in the majority of females. The average systolic blood pressure of females was 121.1 +/- 17.1 mmHg for the middle-aged and 129.6 +/- 21.3 mmHg for the elderly subjects. The systolic blood pressures showed a significantly difference between the two age groups. Those defined as anemic subjects based on hemoglobin values comprised 13.0% of the middled-aged group and 16.3% of the elderly group. There was a tendency for higher fasting glucose levels among the elderly subjects. An increase in total plasma cholesterol levels with age was shown. The female subjects had higher cholesterol levels than the males'. The study of the correlation between the daily habits and health status showed that the amount of food eaten at each meal, the frequency of eating out, and the use of dietary supplements appeared to influence BMI, WHR, the plasma triglyceride and plasma cholesterol levels; omitting one meal had a positive correlation with the systolic blood pressure and plasma cholesterol. These results suggest that desirable dietary habits and concerns for health are contributing factors for maintaining good health, as indicated by normal blood lipid levels.

• Keywords: health-related habits; dietary behavior; health status; middle-aged; elderly