Factors associated with added sugar consumption of older adults from the region of Campinas-SP, Brazil

Abstract

Adequate nutrition has a profound impact on older adults’ health. Therefore, special attention should be given to the dietetic intake of added sugars, which in excess is associated with poorer control of chronic diseases in this phase. The aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of consumption of added sugars in older adults in the Campinas-SP region, its associated factors, and its main dietary sources. A cross-sectional study was conducted in the region of Campinas-SP, with a convenience sample of 586 older individuals. Intake was obtained using two 24-hour food recalls, and values >5% of total energy consumption were considered inadequate. The contribution of the groups and foods in relation to the total content of sugars was also calculated. A critical level of p<0.05 was considered. The average intake of added sugars was higher than recommended (7.0%), and this inadequacy was observed in more than half of the sample, being table sugar and honey the main dietary sources. The prevalence of inadequate consumption was higher among women (69.8%; p=0.004) and individuals with low weight (83.7%; p=0.014), and lower in those with diabetes (47.8%; p<0.001). Results indicate that health and nutrition actions should be developed to ensure adequate sugar intake at this stage.

Factors Associated to Dietary Diversity in Community-dwelling Brazilian Older Adults

“…However, it is believed that this bias was minimized considering that: 1) this is the method used by the indicator according to FAO (2016) 7 ; 2) older adults tend to have a monotonous diet most of the time, varying little between days 3 ; 3) it is well described that if the sample is large enough, as the one studied here, even a single day of consumption per individual can be used to estimate the average habitual consumption of the population, eliminating extreme values due to population distribution, and, to estimate intra-individual daily variation, it is usually statistically more e cient to increase the number of individuals in the sample than to increase the number of days above 2 days per individual 52,53 .…”

“…At each health unit, users who met the inclusion criteria (aged 60 years or older, living in one of the participating municipalities, being registered in the Family Health Strategy (FHS)), were invited to participate in the research. More detail about sampling and recruitment were published previously 53,56 .…”