DANTAS, Ajax Dimitrio de Oliveira.
Resumen:
Historically, it was not common to find a society with a high rate of elderly people, due to the quality
of life resulting from social issues, such as lack of access to basic sanitation, epidemics, food insecurity,
and other adversities. However, the interdisciplinary advancement of studies about the human body
allows considerable advances in well-being, boosting longevity. Among the sciences that help the well-
being of the elderly, nutrition is a fundamental cog for its success, since food is essential to mankind
and its attainment has become a public health problem. Thus, the overall objective of this study is to
evaluate the food intake of the elderly and its relationship to their nutritional status in the municipality
of Cuité, Paraíba. The methodology used in the study consists of applying a questionnaire of a
qualitative and quantitative nature, to obtain and analyze food data, providing records including
graphics, with the participation of twenty-nine elderly, with the instrument of data collection a record
of 24 hours with the aid of photos to ensure the standardization of the amount consumed that sought
to trace the nutritional profile of the institutionalized elderly participating in the group "The Joy of
Living. The results show that most of the elderly are female, aged between 70 years and showing a
consumption below the ideal of carbohydrates with average (43.69%) reducing the total energy value
showing a value (65.39%), but with a considerable average consumption of protein (17.05%) and lipids
(22.25%). The results point to the need to implement nutritional strategies for this population in order
to achieve a more balanced and close to adequate consumption.
