Nutritional status assessment of institutionalized elderly

Objective The objective of this study was to identify the nutritional status, according to body mass index, and provide information regarding anthropometric measurements of institutionalized seniors in the city of Florianopolis (SC), Brazil. Methods This is a cross-sectional study. The research population consisted of 232 senior citizens, aged 60 or more, living in geriatric institutions in Florianopolis (SC), Brazil. Anthropometric assessment included determining the body mass index, tricipital skinfold, and calf circumference. Diagnosis of the nutritional status was performed using the cut-off points determined by the Pan-American Health Organization for body mass index. The data are presented as means and standard deviation. The Student's "t" test was used to detect differences in mean values of the variables between both genders. Results The sample consisted of 167 senior citizens of both genders. A prevalence of 45.5% of low weight, 33.5% of normal weight, 7.8% of overweight and 13.2% of obesity was observed. The mean values for women were higher than those for men for all anthropometric variables. Conclusion The data obtained showed that 66.5% of the sample presented inadequate nutritional status, clearly evidencing the need to take some measures that promote or recover the health of senior citizens. In addition, the data obtained show that there are differences between both genders regarding the nutritional status and the variables body mass index and tricipital skinfold and contribute to increase the anthropometric references of institutionalized senior citizens.