Eating habits and diseases associated with the aging process

Abstract

This study illustrates the impact of dietary habits on the development of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and analyzes how changes in lifestyle open possibilities for improvement in the quality of life and how they contribute to the so-much desired successful aging. This is a cross- sectional quantitative study of a population aged 60 years and older, of both genders, living in the city of São Luís, Maranhão (MA). A semi-structured questionnaire was used to investigate the socio-demographic profile, weekly food consumption and lifestyle analysis. A total of thirty-four elderly individuals were evaluated; they were predominantly female (79.41%), non-whites (52.94%), and married (61.76%). Among the elderly, 55.88% (n=19) had at least one chronic NCD, the most frequent of which was arterial hypertension (51.61%) followed by obesity (29.03%) and diabetes mellitus (19.35%). The study showed a significant daily consumption of rice (47.1%), milk (61.8%), coffee (58.8%), and bananas (79.4%). The consumption of fish (64.7%) and leafy vegetables (38.2%) was shown to be consumed twice a week.