VALIDATION
OF THE
DETERMINE YOUR NUTRITIONAL HEALTH CHECKLIST
Marie
Fanelli Kuczmarski, PhD, RD, University of Delaware and
Teresa M. Cooney, PhD, University of Missouri
Adequate
nutrition is important for maintaining independence and quality of life
in later years. Many older adults are at increased risk of malnutrition
due to such factors as inadequate food intake, polypharmacy, chronic
diseases, disability, depression and selected psycho-social factors.
Common nutritional problems among older adults include hypocholesterolemia,
iron deficiency, protein energy malnutrition and dehydration, and over-
and under- weight conditions. The purpose of this study of older
women, aged 61 to 82 years, was to validate the Determine Your Nutritional
Health checklist using biochemical parameters to assess serum cholesterol,
iron and protein status, and the presence of dehydration, and anthropometric
measures to identify individuals who are over- and under-weight.
Interviews and nutritional status assessments were performed three times
over approximately six months. The series of checklist scores
correlated highly, suggesting reliable and stable results over time.
Approximately 40% of the sample was categorized at "high nutritional
risk" by the Determine Your Nutritional Health checklist.
However, neither anthropometric nor biochemical data correlated significantly
with the checklist scores. The biochemical and anthropometric
indices did not differ between individuals categorized at "high
nutritional risk" and "moderate/low nutritional risk".
These findings suggest that the Determine Your Nutritional Health checklist
is a reliable tool but may be of limited value in assessing nutritional
health in apparently healthy older women.
Funding
for this interdisciplinary project was provided by the College of Human
Resources at the University of Delaware.
Contact
person:
Marie Fanelli Kuczmarski, PhD, RD
University of Delaware
226 Alison Hall
Newark, DE 19716
Telephone: 302/831/8765
Fax: 302/831/4186
E-mail: mfk@udel.edu
