Nutritional status of institutionalised elderly in Ecuador / Estado nutricional de ancianos institucionalizados en el Ecuador

RESUMEN

The nutritional status of 111 elderly men and women aget 60 to 99 years in two institutions in the Ecuadorian Andes was evaluated using dietary, anthropometric and biochemical measurement. Mean daily energy intakes of men and women were 1720 and 1650 Kcal, respectively (7,2 and 6.9 MJ), corresponding to 1.5 times the calculated basal metabolic rate (BMR). 6 por ciento of subjects had intakes less tham 1.2 x BMR and 40 por ciento less than 1.5 x BMR. Body mass index (BMI) was below 20 kg/m2 in 21 por ciento of subjects; 45 por ciento were between 20 and 24. Only one subject had a BMI over 29. Intakes of protein, calcium, iron, riboflavin and vitamin C were satisfactory, in contrast to those of zinc, vitamin A, niacin and thiamin. Using sex-and altitude-specific cutoffs for hemoglobin, anemia was observed in 11 por ciento of subjects. Nutritional status, evaluated using biochemical indicators, was satisfactory with respect to riboflavin, vitamin A, vitamin E and copper. 14 por ciento of subjects had low serum zinc levels and 17 por ciento had serum albumin values below 35 g/L. Low physical activity was associated with low energy intake and low serum albumin levels