Nutrition Education Among Community-Dwelling Polish Seniors—A Pilot Study of Diet Quality, Health Status, and Public Health Interventions

TL;DR

A pilot study in Poland found that brief nutrition education improved seniors' diet awareness and health perceptions, suggesting it could be a useful public health strategy.

Contribution

The study demonstrates that short, tailored nutrition education can be a scalable and cost-effective intervention for older adults.

Findings

Participants had suboptimal diets with low intake of whole grains, legumes, and fish.

A high prevalence of chronic diseases like hypercholesterolemia and hypertension was observed.

Participants found the nutrition session beneficial and intended to share knowledge, suggesting a potential domino effect.

Abstract

Background: Population aging presents major public health challenges. Nutrition education has emerged as a key intervention to improve diet quality and reduce the risk of chronic diseases among older adults. Methods: This pilot cross-sectional study assessed the effects of a brief nutrition education session on dietary patterns, lifestyle behaviors, and health perceptions among 151 community-dwelling Polish seniors aged 60 and over. Data were collected using the KomPAN® questionnaire, the Pro-Healthy Diet Index (pHDI-10), the Non-Healthy Diet Index (nHDI-14), and self-reported health indicators. Results: The findings revealed suboptimal dietary patterns, including low consumption of whole grains, legumes, and fish. A high prevalence of chronic diseases was observed, particularly hypercholesterolemia (67.7%) and hypertension (53.1%). A weak but significant correlation was found between BMI and the number of diagnosed conditions (r = 0.3, p = 0.003). Despite limited prior nutritional knowledge, participants perceived the educational session as beneficial, and many expressed an intention to share the acquired information with peers, indicating a potential “domino effect”. Conclusions: Although the sample size limits generalizability, the results support the effectiveness of brief, tailored nutrition education as a scalable, cost-effective public health strategy. Such interventions may promote healthy aging, reduce diet-related disease burden, and enhance peer-driven knowledge dissemination among older adults.

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