Impact of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Quality of Life in Older Adults in the Saudi Arabia 2023

Abstract

Background

     Nutrition and Physical activity is associated with health-related quality of life (HRQL) in clinical populations, but less is known whether this relationship exists in older men and women who are healthy, people aged 85 years and over are the fastest-growing group, and the proportion of these “oldest old” is expected to triple between now and year 2030. Continued good health of the elderly population is a major challenge to public health, malnutrition is a global health problem especially in extremes of age. Elderly people are a fast-growing group that is at greater risk of malnutrition due to high prevalence of comorbidities and limited resources available for them, elderly are more prone to negative effects of malnutrition on quality of life and health outcomes due to their vulnerable nature and this is often preventable. Physical activity has been consistently associated with enhanced quality of life (QOL) in older adults. However, the nature of this relationship is not fully understood that physical activity influences global QOL through self-efficacy, nutrition and health-status.

Aim of the study: To determine  the Impact of nutrition, Physical Activity and Quality of Life in Older Adults in the Saudi Arabia 2023

Methods: cross-sectional descriptive study conducted at among Older Adults, age above the  50 years to participate in  and contacted to participate in an 6-month follow-up. Individuals completed a battery of questionnaires assessing an activities of daily living, dependence on medicines and medical aids, energy and fatigue, mobility, pain and discomfort, sleep and rest, Work capacity, dependence on medicines and medical aids, our total of 300 eligible patients participated in this study

 Results: most of the participants (31.0%) were in the age group 60-65 years, gender the majority of them were female (63.0%), level of education majority of participant are primary education were (34.0%), the family income (SR) the majority of participant save/invest were (68.0%), physical activity the majority of participant low were (48.0%), regarding the social level the majority of participant high were(56.0%) follow by low were (24.0%) while middle were (20.0%).

Conclusion: Our findings support the role of self-efficacy in the relationship between nutrition, physical activity and QOL as well as an expanded QOL model including both health status indicators and global QOL. These findings further suggest future nutrition; physical activity promotion programs should include strategies to enhance self-efficacy, a modifiable factor for improving QOL in older adults .