Effects of Socio-Economic Characteristics on Nutritional Status of the Elderly in Ilaro, Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

The number of elderly is increasing worldwide, and malnutrition is not uncommon with the elderly due to poor socio-economic risk factors. This study assessed the effect of socio-economic characteristics on the nutritional status of the elderly in Ilaro, Ogun State, Nigeria. A Survey research design was adopted, and a structured questionnaire was used to explore the socio-economic characteristics and nutritional status of the elderly using an anthropometric measurement of height and weight to get the BMI of the elderly in Ilaro. Cochran sample size calculator and Cramer’s V non-parametric test were employed in calculating the sample size of the association and confirmatory analysis of the strength of linear association existing between the nominal variables of socio-economic characteristics and elderly nutritional status, respectively. The Psychometric analysis showed that 50% of the elderly have average weight, 25% of them were overweight, 13% were obese, while 2% were underweight. On the strength of linear association between socio-economic characteristics and nutritional status of the elderly, only age, monthly income, and occupation have a significant effect on nutritional status. The confirmatory analysis using the Cramer’s V test provided an efficient minimum threshold for suggesting a significant relationship between age, monthly income, occupation and nutritional status. This study has indicated that age, income, and occupation have statistically significant effects on the elderly nutritional status while other socio-economic characteristics of the elderly are considered, which is not limited to sex; religion, marital status, and educational qualification were not significantly related to nutritional status.