PD098 - DIETARY DIVERSITY, DIET QUALITY, AND OBESITY RISK AMONG OLDER ADULTS IN TAIWANESE RURAL TOWNSHIPS

PD098

DIETARY DIVERSITY, DIET QUALITY, AND OBESITY RISK AMONG OLDER ADULTS

IN TAIWANESE RURAL TOWNSHIPS

Y. CHEN^1,*, C. H. Huang¹

¹Department of Dietetics, National Taiwan University Hospital (Yun-Lin Branch), Yun-lin, Taiwan, Province of China

 

Rationale: Sarcopenia and obesity affect 34.1% and 20–25% of Taiwanese older adults. Given dietary diversity's inverse correlation with obesity, this study evaluates diet quality and diversity in rural older adults to guide targeted interventions.

Methods: A dietitian assessed rural Taiwanese older adults via anthropometrics and questionnaires. Digital dietary records were evaluated using the Diet Balance Index-16 (DBI-16). SPSS was used for data analysis (means ± SD, frequencies) and group comparisons (Mann-Whitney U, Chi-square;p<0.05).

Results: Among the 26 older adults evaluated (12 males, 14 females), males exhibited higher weight, height, and education levels. Notably, 65.4% of the cohort was overweight or obese, and 61.5% reported using dietary supplements. While daily energy and protein intakes showed no sex-based differences, dairy and vegetable consumption consistently fell below recommended levels, with dairy intake being particularly deficient in males. Furthermore, Diet Quality Distance analysis revealed a moderate-to-high dietary imbalance in 61.5% of participants, and 76.9% demonstrated overconsumption of specific food groups.

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Conclusion: Dietary imbalance is a critical issue for rural older adults, necessitating accurate assessment tools to guide targeted interventions for obesity-prone individuals. Notably, inadequate dairy and vegetable intake exacerbates calcium deficiency, elevating the risk of osteoporosis and sarcopenic obesity.

References: Su et al. (2020). Adjusting DBI-2016 to dietary balance index for Chinese maternal women and assessing the association between maternal dietary quality and postpartum weight retention: A longitudinal study. PLoS ONE 15(8):e0237225.

Yu et al. (2025). Association of diet quality and quantity with the risk of sarcopenia based on the Chinese diet balance index 2022. Frontiers in Nutrition,12:1562362.

 

Disclosure of Interest: Y. CHEN Other: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., C. H. Huang Other: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.