Adults and the elderly who received nutritional counseling in a city of southern Brazil: a population-based study.

INTRODUCTION

Nutrition counseling has played a critical role in the prevention and treatment of various diseases.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate how adults and elderly people, who are residents in an urban area of Southern Brazil, received nutritional counseling.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional population based study. Data was collected through a questionnaire applied at home. The outcome was the prevalence of nutritional counseling received in the past year that came from different means, including means of communication. Sociodemographic variables, doctor visits in the past year, nutritional state and other healthcare variables were analyzed.

RESULTS

The sample included 1,296 individuals (rate of answer of 90.7%). The results indicate that the majority of the people interviewed were females (56.6%), with their age ranging from 18 to 59 years-old (75.3%). The prevalence of people receiving nutritional counseling was 19.9% (95%CI 17.3 -22.5). It was higher among women than men (p = 0.01). The sex-adjusted analyses showed a statistically significant (p < 0.05) association in men for the variables: schooling ≥ 12 years; medical consultation in the last year; low weight; obesity; diabetes and hypertension. Among the women, the following variables were associated with the outcome: health insurance; medical consultation in the last year; obesity and diabetes.

CONCLUSIONS

The low prevalence of nutritional counseling and its association with diseases exposes the need for it to be implemented not only for treatment purposes but also as preventive health actions.