Counseling by health professionals and healthy behaviors among the elderly: population-based study in Pelotas, South of Brazil, 2014

Objective: to analyze the association between counseling by health care professionals and healthy behaviors among the elderly. Methods: population-based, cross-sectional study with elderly individuals (>= 60 years) interviewed in 2014; Poisson regression was used to estimate crude and adjusted prevalence ratios (PR) of associations between counseling by health professionals on the reduction of salt, sugar and fat and on the practice of physical activity during the year previous to the interview and healthy behaviors. Results: 1,281 elderly individuals were interviewed; after adjustments, the elderly who mentioned receiving counseling by health professionals reported reduction in the intake of salt (PR 1.64; 95% CI 1.41; 1.91), sugar and sweets (PR 1.21; 95% CI 1.08; 1.36) and greater practice of physical activity (PR 1.21; 95% CI 1.06; 1.39), when compared to the elderly who had not received any counseling. Conclusion: the counseling carried out by health professionals seems to favor the practice of healthy habits among elderly individuals.