Healthy eating index in southern Brazilian older adults and its association with socioeconomic, behavioral and health characteristics.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess factors associated with the diet quality of brazilian older adults. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: City of Carlos Barbosa, Brazil. PARTICIPANTS: 228 participants aged 60 and older. MEASUREMENTS: A questionnaire with questions on socioeconomic and behavioral variables and health characteristics was used. The body mass index was calculated and the waist circumference was measured to provide information in respect to abdominal fat accumulation. Dietary data were collected via 24-hour recall and the diet quality was assessed using the Healthy Eating Index, an instrument that attributes scores to the diet according to the adequacy of intake of the main food and nutrient groups. Participants were divided into three categories, according to the Healthy Eating Index scores: under 51--poor diet; between 51 and 80--diet that needs improvement; over 80--good diet. The evaluation employed the analysis of variance, t test and non-conditional logistic regression to assess the association between the Healthy Eating Index and the other variables. RESULTS: Most participants (80.9%) presented diet that needs improvement and the marital status showed an independent association with the Healthy Eating Index--married individuals showed higher odds of presenting good diet. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that, in general, the diet quality of this group needs improvement and that the marital status is a factor that can be considered for the development of activities to promote health and healthy food intake habits.