Assessment of nutritional status in elderly by body mass index and bioelectric impedance

Aging process involves various physical and metabolic changes that have effect on individual nutritional needs and dietary habits. Physical activity, energy and nutrient intake have an important effect on changes in elderly, and may result in malnutrition or obesity. In this study, to determine nutritional status two methods have been used: body mass index and body composition measured by bioelectric impedance. 97 elderly people has participated in this study, ages 51 to 95, in which 47 where from Residential home for elderly Đakovo and 50 of them lived in their own home. The BMI results showed that most participants were obese (60%) or overweight (26%), while body composition values indicate a high proportion of fatty tissue (41%) and low muscle mass (25%). Gender comparison of body composition values indicate that 67% of male participants have very high proportion of fatty tissue and 81% of them low muscle mass, while 46% of females have higher values in normal muscle mass and 13% of them lower in normal proportion of fatty tissue. Higher obesity rate was observed in the residential home participants (66%) with a higher proportion of fatty tissue and lower muscle mass values compared to the participants who live in their own home. Overall results show that most of the participants are overweight that can lead to chronic disease development and in addition reduce quality of life. Better education, motivation and raise of awareness in elderly and institution employees about proper nutrition and physical activity can have positive impact on nutrition status and life quality of elderly.