Professional paper

Nutrition in old people's homes in Split

Katja Ćurin
Jadranka Marušić
Sanja Čulin

Abstract

Food selection and the nutritional-energetic value of daily meals should be adjusted to the physiological changes in cardiovascular, musculosceletal, gastrointestinal, endocrine and other systems of the elderly.
The aim of this paper was to examine the nutrition quality of old people's homes in Split according to recommended values for proposing measures of improvement. At Split Public Health Teaching Institute, food and energetic values of 108 daily meals taken on a monthly basis (6 times a year) from three old people's homes in Split were examined from 1999 to 2004 using the random selection method. The analyzed values were compared with prescribed standards. The frequency of staple food usage was also examined.
The correspondence of proteins in relation to standard ranged from 72,5% to 116,6%, fats from 66,7% to 159,7% and carbohydrates from 86,4% to 107,9%, with energetic value from 83,0 % to 119,4% for the examined period. The values were quite unequal and varied according to ages and homes. The nutritional matter portion in the total energetic value did not deviate significantly from the recommended values. The menues were dull, with a low presence of food such as fish and fish products, milk and dairy products, leguminous plants and seasonal fruit and vegetables. Fatty food was mainly used.
A more diverse menu should include fish and fish products, fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables, low fat dairy products, low fat turkey and veal, and integral food grain products. Nutritional changes would have a positive impact on the course and complications of chronic diseases in the elderly.

Keywords

the elderly; old people's homes; nutrition; nutritional standards; nutrition evaluation

Hrčak ID:

10439

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/10439

Publication date:

20.1.2007.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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