Abstract:

Objective: During the COVID-19 pandemic, elderly adults’ nutritional habits, physical activity levels and the levels of malnutrition were affected. This study investigated the prevalence of malnutrition and physical fitness and exercise activity levels in home dwelling elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted with a face-to-face questionnaire on 670 (male: 241, female: 429) home-dwelling older adults with a mean age of 70.66±5.83 years. The nutritional screening and evaluation were performed using Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), and physical conditions were evaluated with Physical Fitness and Exercise Activity Levels of The Older Adults’ Scale (PFES). Results: Findings were (1) malnutrition risk was higher at both age groups (65-74 and 75-90 aged) (p=0.001), (2) marital status (p=0.025), presence of chronic illness (p=0.001), use of drugs (p=0.006) affected nutritional status, (3) health status was affected by COVID-19 pandemic (p=0.001). Nutritional status and PFES scores did not changed according to malnutrition levels (p>0.05). Conclusion: Age, marital status, comorbidity, and use of drugs were independently associated with malnutrition in the elderly. Due to the time restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, older adults might have had to engage in physical activity to meet their nutritional and personal needs.

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