Análise da situação alimentar das pessoas idosas participantes da Universidade Aberta para Terceira Idade na Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa

Abstract

Population aging is a growing global phenomenon that has impacted different areas, such as management and public health. An aggravating factor for the worsening of quality of life, and consequently the worsening of healthy aging, is the experience of Food Insecurity (FI). Insecurity that can be caused by the availability, quality, quantity, access, stability and use of food. After understanding the importance of Food and Nutrition Security for the Elderly, there was a question about the food situation of the Elderly belonging to our University, that is, the students of UATI - UEPG. Therefore, the question that guides this research is: What is the food (in)security situation of the Elderly participating in UATI - UEPG? This exploratory quantitative-qualitative work aims to measure the Food (In)Security of Elderly People students of the Open University for the Third Age (UATI) of UEPG. For this, a theoretical discussion was produced on the themes: Food and Nutrition Security with a focus on the object of research and population aging. After this discussion, a contextualization was constructed on the achievement and guarantee of the Human Right to Adequate Food (HRAF) through public policies, especially aimed at the Elderly. The results begin with a brief history of UATI – UEPG, an extension program of the State University of Ponta Grossa (UEPG). The research data were collected through questionnaires applied in person to UATI students, seeking to include a significant sample of those enrolled in 2024. The data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively, with content analysis and the use of the free software Iramuteq for qualitative questions; and statistically for quantitative questions using the free software PSPP. This research was motivated by the rapid inversion in the Brazilian age pyramid. Its relevance comes when this phenomenon causes more serious problems in developing countries (unlike developed countries) where this change is relatively recent and, for this reason, they are not yet prepared to manage it. In addition to having few Brazilian studies on the subject, as opposed to developed countries that already experience this reality more intentionally. The study culminates in a diagnosis of the dietary situation of the elderly people of the UATI, identifying that 74.4% of the UATI students are in SAN, 16.3% in mild IA, and 9.3% in moderate IA. Among the determinants of SAN in this sample are gender, education, income, type of housing, number of meals per day, whether they eat alone, their physical exercise practice, their BMI, whether this student has any disease and whether they use the RU. After this identification and discussion, it was possible to conclude and understand the dietary situation of this group and its causes, identifying among the majority of the students the presence of a diet with unhealthy habits and cases of Obesity and Overweight. Based on this, suggestions were made for the University and the State.