營養健康教育對社區長者飲食行為的影響－－以宜蘭縣某社區服務為例

Effects of Nutrition and Health Education on Eating Behaviors in the Community Elderly: Example of a Community Service Program in Yilan County, Taiwan

為促進長者生活品質與預防老化所衍生之相關健康問題，行政院在台灣地區各地建立「社區長者關懷據點」。但鮮少有研究探討營養教育介入社區長者關懷據點。目的：本前導性研究為探討由營養師指導的營養教育介入對社區長者飲食行為的影響。方法：由營養師進行10週活動，提供6堂健康飲食新知與營養教育課程，並進行16題飲食行為問卷的前、後測。結果：共18位長者（男性2位，女性16位，平均年齡為71.1±8.3歲）完成本研究。此16題的飲食行為問卷中有4題均有顯著差異（＜0.05），分別為「我不吃油炸物」、「我不吃肥肉」、「我會瀝乾菜餚的湯汁後再吃」以及「我每天會喝牛奶、優酪乳或吃優格等乳製品」。結論：社區營養教育講座對長者在油脂和奶類攝取飲食行為具部分改善成效。

With the aim of improving the quality of life and to prevent aging-related health problems in the elderly, community elderly care centers were established by the Ministry of the Interior, Executive Yuan, Taiwan. So far there have been few studies about community nutrition education for the elderly in Taiwan. This pilot study was conducted to evaluate the effects of a community nutrition education program (conducted by dietitians) on eating behaviors of the elderly. This pilot study used a community nutrition education program which included six lectures on healthy eating and nutrition knowledge as part of a 10-week health education program. A questionnaire concerning dietary behavior (consisting of 16 questions) was used before and after the study. In total, 18 elderly (2 males and 16 females with mean age of 71.1 ± 8.3 years) completed the study. Four items in the questionnaire showed significant improvement ( < 0.05) after the nutrition education program. These 4 items were: 'I do not eat fried foods'; 'I do not eat fat meat'; 'I'll drain the soup dish before eating'; and 'I drink milk and dairy products every day'. This community nutrition education program appeared to have limited positive effects on modifying the eating behaviors with regard to fat and milk intake by the elderly.