Nutritional status of Chinese-, Korean-, and Japanese-American elderly

Objective To examine the nutritional status of three major subgroups of Asian-American elderly.

Subjects The sample consisted of 169 Chinese, 90 Korean, and 50 Japanese elderly who lived in five apartment buildings for senior citizens in Chicago, Ill.

Main outcome measures Twenty-four-hour dietary recalls were used to evaluate dietary intake. Anthropometric measures of height, weight, and triceps skinfold thickness were also obtained.

Results Many Asian-American elderly consume an inadequate amount of dietary calcium. A large percentage of Korean elderly also consume inadequate amounts of protein and vitamins A and C. Underweight was more common than obesity among these ethnic elderly groups.

Applications The information in this article provides valuable data to the Asian-American community for program planning as well as to health providers who work with individual Asian-American elderly to meet their nutrition needs.