The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a nutrition education program for the elderly at a public health center located in Jinhae city. The one group pretest and posttest design was conducted using self-administered questionnaire survey. Nutrition education lessons based on social cognitive theory (2 hours/lesson, 3 times) were provided to 27 female elderly(≥65 yrs) for a month. After the nutrition education, number of exercise increased and preference for sweetness decreased significantly (p<0.05). The outcome expectations, the knowledge of nutrition (p<0.001), and behavioral capability (p<0.05) score were significantly increased. There were significant increases in all nutrient intake. NAR was increased significantly in protein, calcium and vitamin C (p<0.01), dietary fiber, iron, zinc, thiamin, niacin and folic acid (p<0.001), and riboflavin (p<0.05). INQ was increased significantly in thiamin, vitamin B6 and niacin (p<0.05), and dietary fiber (p<0.01). The score of nutrition education satisfaction was high (4.52). The results of this study suggested that the nutritional education program based on social cognitive theory had a positive effect on dietary behavior changes, and nutrition intake status among female elderly even after short-term intervention.

This study was conducted to measure the effect of a community-based nutritional intervention program on dietary behaviors and nutrient intakes of low-income elderly women in Korea. The subject of the study was a group of 88 elderly women using the free meal service in Dong-gu, Gwangju city in Korea. The study was carried out from April to July 2009, and the pretest, application of nutrition education, and post-test were applied in each stage. This community-based nutrition intervention program consisted of snack supplement and nutrition education provided three times a week and 36 times in total. The nutrition education was led by the nutritionists and professionals using various educational media. Snack supplement included were milk, soymilk, carrot juice, bread, yogurt, and bananas. The result of pretest showed that the nutrient intakes of the subjects were much below the Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI) level of Dietary Reference Intake for Koreans. Comparison of the dietary behavior score and nutrient intakes before and after the nutritional intervention program indicated that the food behavior score increased from 3.1 to 5.6 (P<0.001) and intake of energy, protein, carbohydrate, thiamin, niacin, vitamin C, iron, and potassium of the subjects all increased significantly (P<0.05). Mean Adequacy Ratio (MAR) of their nutrient intakes was also improved from 0.53 to 0.64 (P<0.01). These results indicated that the nutrition intervention program conducted in this study was effective in improving dietary behavior and nutrient intakes of elderly women in local community.

This research was peformed to investigate the anthropometric data, blood profiles, and nutrient intakes of elderly persons living in a rural area. The subjects were 67 undernourished people who participated in follow-up nutrition intervention programs for9 weeks. Anthropometric data showed that the mean heights and weights in the management group were 157.6 cm and 59.1 kg, respectively, for the males and 152.6 cm and 51.0 kg, respectively, for the females. The mean BMIs of the management group were 23.8 kg/m2 in the males and 22.4 kg/m2 in the females. The total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and albumin levels of the subjects were 181.7-191.4mg/dL, 48.3-53.0mg/dL, and 3.85-4.00g/dL, respectively. Energy, ash, P, Na, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, and niacin increased significantly after intervention for the management group. The mINQ, however, did not significantly increase after intervention. Also after intervention, there was no significant difference in mINQ between the management group and the comparison group. MAR (14) in the management group was significantly increased from 0.62±0.2 before intervention to 0.68±0.2 after intervention (p=0.022), and it was significantly different between the management group and the comparison group (p=0.017). MAR (8) in the management group was not significantly different (p=0.915) before and after intervention. However, MAR (8) between the management group and the comparison group did show a significant difference (p=0.031). MAR (3) in the management group was significantly increased from 0.48±0.2 before intervention to 0.55±0.2 after intervention (p=0.045), however, MAR (3) was not significantly different between the management group and the comparison group (p=0.093). For the probability of nutrient insufficiency, in the management group the probability of nutrient values below the EAR (except for Fe) decreased after intervention compared to before intervention. On the other hand, the probabilities of values above the RI, or EAR~RI, were increased