HEALTH CHALLENGES AND NUTRITIONAL LIFESTYLES OF THE ELDERLY IN RURAL AND URBAN HOUSEHOLDS OF ATIBA LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF OYO STATE

Abstract

Aging is complex, and by age 65, most elderly people suffer or experience one health challenge or the other. Nigeria is believed to have the largest concentration of elderly people in Africa, and was expected to have hit 30million by 2016. Even though, genetics play key role in health and longevity, diet, environmental hazard, medical support and access to health information are found relevant. Nutritional and health status assessment of selected elderly respondents were carried out to determine their well-being in view of present economic challenges. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select sixty elderly male and female from the rural and urban settlements of Atiba local government area of Oyo state. Structured questionnaire on demographic, dietary lifestyle and health history was used to elicit information from the elderly respondents while frequency counts and simple percentages were used to analyse the responses. It was noted that little disparity existed among the elderly in terms of lifestyle, dietary pattern and health issues despite their residencies. Majority of the urban elderly were retiree from government services and artisans while their rural counterparts were basically farmers and traders during their active years. It was recommended that children and relatives of elderly people should be more supportive and that the government should subsidise health care services of the elderly and grant pensionable supports to government retirees.