Objective: The China Elderly Dietary Guidelines Index 2018(CDGI(2018)-E) was established to evaluate the dietary quality and analyze its influencing factors of the elderly aged 60 and above in 15 provinces(autonomous regions and municipalities) in China.
Methods: Based on Dietary Guidelines Index 2007(CDGI-2007), the equal weight continuity scoring method was used, Chinese residents' dietary guidelines(2016) and a balanced diet pagoda as the basis, to establish Chinese Dietary Guidelines Index 2018, and used the data of China Health and Nutrition Survey in 2015 to evaluate the elderly aged 60 and above of dietary quality status and it's influencing factors of 15 provinces(autonomous regions and municipality) in our country.
Results: The CDGI(2018)-E score which ranges from 0 to 110 points, includes 13 evaluation index, consists of three major categories; Class "adequate intake": cereals and tubers(the percentage energy from carbohydrate and other grain and dry beans), fruit, vegetables(total vegetables and the rate of dark vegetables) soybean and nuts and dairy products; Class "moderate intake": meat and poultry, eggs and aquatic products; Class "limited intake": oil, salt and wine. In 2015, the mean of CDGI(2018)-E score for the elderly over 60 years old of 15 provinces(autonomous regions and municipality) in China was 53. 79 points(median 53. 42 points), high income level and high education level was higher, the eastern region was higher than the western and central region, and the urban higher than the rural. The scores of limited intake category were higher, while the scores of moderate and adequate intake category were mainly distributed within 0-15 and 0-25. The first five indicators of low dietary score of the elderly aged 60 and above in 15 provinces(autonomous regions and municipality)of China were dairy products, fruits, other grains and dry beans, meat and poultry in turn. The highest score class of protein, carbohydrate, dietary fiber, retinol, riboflavin and niacin intake was higher than the other groups.
Conclusion: A series of nutrients related to cardiovascular disease risk, such as protein, fat, vitamins, sodium and potassium are different in the elderly population with different scores. The diet quality of the elderly is relatively low, and the consumption of dairy products, aquatic products and fruit needed to be improved. The nutrition education and the intervention work should be mainly targeted at the elderly in western and central regions, rural, low income and education levels.
Keywords: dietary index; dietary survey; nutrients; the elderly.