Introduction:

The nutritional status of older people can vary depending on environmental, psychosocial, and physiological factors.

Objective:

To assess the nutritional status of elderly people institutionalized in a public senior residence in Asunción, Paraguay.

Methodology:

An observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study carried out in men and women over 60 years of age, institutionalized in the Santo Domingo Complex of the city of Asunción in July 2023. The instrument used to assess the levels of malnutrition and risk of malnutrition was the Full MNA® (Full-Mini Nutritional Assessment). To measure overweight and obesity, the table of weight-age percentiles in the older adult population was used.

Results:

We worked with 77 older people with a mean age of 77 ± 9 years (range 60 and 106 years), with 54.6% (n 42) being female. At the ”malnourished” level, 16.9% of the sample was identified, while 27.3% were at the “risk of malnutrition” level and 36.3% had a “normal state of nutrition” Along with the determined nutritional status levels, it was found that 19.5% of this population was overweight and obese.

Conclusions:

The levels found in the study were risk of malnutrition (27.3%), malnutrition (16.9%), and normal nutritional status (36.3%). Women and people over 80 years of age have a higher proportion of malnutrition and risk of malnutrition. This information demonstrates the importance of including a nutritional assessment instrument in the geriatric consultation for timely diagnosis and treatment.

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