Life´s quality and feeding standards of institutionalized elderly in the city of Maringá-PR

Abstract

Outside the family environment, old people´s homes constitute the oldest and most universal way of caring for the elderly. However, these institutions favor the alderly isolation and dphysical and mental inactivity, leading to innumerable negative consequences for their life´s. During the aging process, many anatomical and physiological changes take place that may affect their nutritional conditions. The main objective of this work has been to identify life´s quality and feeding standards of the institutionalized elderly in the city of Maringá-PR, were 40 old people were interviewed, 22 baing men and 18 women. All information was collected though interviews and the filing of a questionnaire with specific questions. The daily routine of the residents follow the same pattern, were physical inactivity, sedentarism and idleness are the norm. During thew interviews, the elderly manifestied their satisfaction, specialy concerning taste. Athough the base for an adequate feeding is the same, it must be registeredthat each life´s stage deserves secial care. Therefore, the food for the ederly must be centered on minimizing physiological alterations that occur in the organism. It is common the alteration of smell and taste in the elderly, with the reduction of in the perception of flavors. This reduction may directly affect the pleasure of eating and lead to decreased appetite and, consequently, to a situation of nutritional deficiency. In the institution studied, it was possible to observe a serious necessity for the practice of physical exercises as well as the reeducation of their elderly residents as to guarantee greater longevity and better life quality