This investigation explored nutritional risk and dietary characteristics of older Hispanics (52 years or older) living independently in a large, urban metropolitan area. Fifty-nine participants (93% female) completed a 16-item nutrition assessment questionnaire, and dietary intake data were collected on 49 of these participants. Of participants, 65% were well-nourished, although 35% were at risk of malnutrition or were malnourished. Participants'diets were lacking adequate amounts of dietary fiber, vitamin E, folate, zinc and calcium as well as energy foods, protein, and complex carbohydrates. A culturally sensitive nutrition intervention to meet the needs of older Hispanics should emphasize adequate fluid intake and traditional food sources of fiber, vitamin E, folate, zinc, and calcium. In addition, knowledge of different types of carbohydrates and dietary fats should be incorporated into interventions that also provide opportunities for social interactions among older Hispanics.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Alaimo, K.
, McDowell, M. A., Briefel, R. R., & Bischoff, A. M. (1994). Dietary intake of vitamins, minerals, and fiber of persons ages 2 months and over in the United States: Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Phase 1, 1988-1991(Advance Data from Vital and Health Statistics, No. 258). Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.
2.
American Heart Association
. (1996). AHA medical/scientific statement: Dietary guidelines for healthy American adults. Circulation, 94, 1795-1800.
3.
Bermudez, O. I.
, Falcon, L. M.,& Tucker, K. L. (2000). Intake and food sources of macronutrients among older Hispanic adults: Association with ethnicity, acculturation, and length of residence in the U.S. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 100, 665-673.
4.
Bernard, M. A.
, Lampley-Dallas, V. L., & Smith, L. (1997). Common health problems among minority elders. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 97, 771-776.
5.
Food and Nutrition Board
. (1989). Recommended dietary allowances(10th ed.). Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences.
6.
Food and Nutrition Board
. (1997). Dietary reference intakes for calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, vitamin D, and flouride. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
7.
Food and Nutrition Board
. (1998). Dietary reference intakes for thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, folate, vitamin B12, panthothenic acid, biotin, and choline. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
8.
Food and Nutrition Board
. (2000). Dietary reference intakes for vitamin E, vitamin C, selenium and carotenoids. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
9.
Gans, K. M.
, Lovell, H. J., Fortunet, R., McMahon, C., Carton-Lopez, S., & Lasater, T. M. (1999). Implications of qualitative research for nutrition education geared to selected Hispanic audiences. Journal of Nutrition Education, 31, 331-338.
10.
Government Printing Office
. (1995). Populationprofile of the United States: 1995. Current population reports(Series P23-189). Washington, DC: Author.
11.
Guigoz, Y.
,& Vellas, B. (1997). The Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) for grading the nutritional state of elderly patients, presentation of the MNA, history and validation. Facts, Research and Intervention Geriatric Newsletter: Nutrition, 6, 2-2.
12.
Guigoz, Y.
, Vellas, B., & Garry, P. J. (1996). Assessing the nutritional status of the elderly: The Mini Nutritional Assessment as part of the geriatric evaluation. Nutrition Reviews, 54 (Suppl. 2), S59-S65.
13.
Interagency Board for Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research
. (1993). Nutrition monitoring in the United States. Chartbook 1: Selected findings from the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Program(Public Health Service, Report No. 93-1255-2). Hyattsville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
14.
Kramarow, E.
, Lentzner, H., Rooks, R., Weeks, J., & Saydan, S. (1999). Health: United States, 1999(Health and Aging Chartbook). Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.
15.
Loria, C. M.
, Bush, T. L., Carroll, M. D., Looker, A. C., & McDowell, M. A. (1995). Macronutrient intakes among adult Hispanics: Acomparison ofMexican Americans, Cuban Americans and Mainland Puerto Ricans. American Journal of Public Health, 85, 684-689.
16.
Mackel, C. L.
, Sheehy, C. M., & Badger, T. A. (1994). The challenge of detection and management of alcohol abuse among elders. Clinical Nurse Specialist, 8, 128-135.
17.
Marshall, J. A.
, Lopez, T. K.Shetterly, S. M., Morgenstern, N. E., Baer, K., Swenson, et al. (1999). Indicators of nutritional risk in a rural elderly Hispanic and non-Hispanic white population: San Luis Valley health and aging study. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 99, 315-322.
18.
McDowell, M. A.
, Briefel, R. R., Alaimo, K., Bischof, A. M., Caughman, C. R., Carroll, M. D., et al. (1994). Energy and macronutrient intakes of persons ages 2 months and over in the United States: Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Phase 1, 1988-1991(Advance Data from Vital and Health Statistics, No. 255). Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.
19.
Morley, J. E.
(1997). Anorexia of aging: Physiologic and pathologic. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 66, 760-773.
20.
Najjar, M. F.
, & Kuczmarski, R. J. (1989). Vital and health statistics, anthropometric data and prevalence of overweight for Hispanics: 1982-1984. Vital and Health Statistics (Series 11, No. 239, DHHSPublication No. 89-1689, Public Health Service). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
21.
National Cancer Institute
. (1995). National Cancer Institute dietary guidelines(NIH Publication No. 95-3877). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
22.
Neyman, M. R.
, Block, G., Johns, M., Sutherlin, J. M., McDonald, R. B.,& Zidenberg-Cherr, S. (1998). Effect of participation in congregate-site meal programs on the energy and nutrient intakes of Hispanic seniors. Journal of The American Dietetic Association, 98, 1460-1462.
23.
Nutrition Screening Initiative
. (1994). Incorporating nutrition screening and interventions into medical practice: A monograph for physicians. Washington, DC: Author.
24.
NutritionistV(Version 2.1.1) [Computer software]. (1998). San Bruno, CA: First DataBank, Inc.
25.
Pareo-Tubbeh, S. L.
, Romero, L. J., Baumgartner, R. N., Garry, P. J., Lindeman, R. D., & Koehler, K. M. (1999). Comparison of energy and nutrient sources of elderly Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites in New Mexico. Journal of The American Dietetic Association, 99, 572-582.
26.
Pluckebaum, J. M.
, & Chavez, N. (1994). Nutritional status of northwest Indiana Hispanics in a congregate meal program. Journal of Nutrition for the Elderly, 13, 1-22.
27.
Ponza, M.
, Ohls, J. L., & Millen, B. E. (1996). Serving elders at risk: The Older Americans Act Nutrition Program. National Evaluation of the Elderly Nutrition Program, 1993-1995.Washington, DC: Mathematica Policy Research.
28.
Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (Version 9.0) [Computer software]. (1999). Chicago, Ill: SPSS, Inc.
29.
U.S. Census Bureau
. (1995). Sixty-five plus in the United States. Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/%20ftp/pub/socdemo/www/agebrief.html
30.
U.S. Department of Agriculture/U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
. (2000). Dietary guidelines for Americans. Retrieved from http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/dga/
31.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
. Public Health Service. (2000). Healthy people 2010: National health promotion and disease prevention objectives. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/
32.
Villa, M. L.
, Cuellar, J., Gamel, N., & Yeo, G. (1993). Aging and health: Hispanic elders. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford Geriatric Education Center.
33.
Weddle, D. O.
, & Fanelli-Kuczmarski, M. (2000). Position of the American Dietetic Association: Nutrition, aging, and the continuum of care. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 100, 580-595.
34.
Williams, M. H.
(1999). Nutrition for health, fitness & sport(5th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
35.
World Health Organization
. (1990). Diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic disease. Report of a WHO Study Group(WHO Technical Report Series, No. 797). Geneva, Switzerland: Author.
