COMMUNITY-LIVING ELDER’S VIEWS ON NORMAL AND LOW WEIGHT

Objectives: To investigate community-living older adult’s understanding of normal and low weight. Design: Cross-sectional exploratory. Setting: Three counties in the Western United States. Participants: Community-living older adults (n=130), aged 65 and older, with a body mass index (BMI) <24 kg/m2. Measument: Interviews, using semi-structured questions, were analyzed using content analysis. Results: Only 22% (n=28) of the participants reported knowing the normal weight range for their age, and even fewer (2%, n=3) knew what a low weight was for their age. Most (n=125) reported receiving no information from their health care provider (HCP) on normal and low weight for their age. Conclusion: The majority of the participants were unaware that they were at-risk for poor nutritional status and low weight; they reported receiving little information from their HCP on preventing weight loss. Since most community-living older adults do not know what normal or low weight is for their age, they would benefit from receiving this information from their HCP. Rationale: Knowledge of older adults’ views on normal and low weight may lead to early identification of weight problems and improve an older adult’s nutritional status.