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The issue of health and nutritional wellbeing becomes one of the utmost concerns for the welfare of the elderly in a society of increased aging populations. This study was conducted to assess nutritional state and to identify possible dietary factors that might influence health and nutritional state of the free living elderly women. Two hundred sixty two elderly women, aged 60-90 who are actively participating in a continuing education program for the elderly in Seoul area, were interviewed using a dietary habit questionnaire and a 24-hour recall. Anthropometric measurements such as heights, weights, body mass index, and tricep skinfolds and dental status were significantly different between the two age groups, ＜75 and ≥ 75 years of age. Sixty eight percent of the subjects were using nutritional supplements regularly, in the descending order of vitamin-mineral supplements(40%), botanicals(27.6%), tonic drinks(16%), and health foods(13.2%). For hot beverages, our study subjects drank coffee (33.6%) and green tea (17.9%) frequently, followed by doongulae, job´s tears, citron and kyulmyung tea. With regard to micronutrients, vitamin C intake was found to be lower in the group aged over 75 compared to that below 75 (p<0.05). Calcium intake was significantly higher among the elderly with good dental status followed by the groups with gingivitis, denture, and missed teeth with poor chewing abilities (p<0.05). The amount of personal spending money was found to be a significant contributing factor (p<0.05) to the energy and nutrient intake in an individual. The results of the present study can be applied to the identification of the possible factors that might intervene the aging process, to the planning of the nutrition education program, and to the development of health food products for the promotion of health and nutrition of the elderly women.
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