International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health | September 2023 | Vol 10 | Issue 9 Page 3226 International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health Ayushree BRA et al. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2023 Sep;10(9):3226-3230 http://www.ijcmph.com pISSN 2394-6032 | eISSN 2394-6040 Original Research Article An assessment of nutritional status of elderly in Bolangir district of Odisha: a community based study B. R. A. Ayushree 1 *, Rasmita Biswal 1 , Monalisha Munda 1 , Jyotirmayee Udgata 1 , Bijayani Bhoi 2 INTRODUCTION Ageing is a physiological process that begins at birth, continues throughout life, and culminates in death. Nutrition is one of the many environmental elements that influence how we age. While malnutrition is not a natural part of ageing, older persons are at risk owing to physiological, psychological, social, nutritional, and environmental risk factors. 1 Malnutrition is widespread in older individuals because daily food consumption declines with age. Additionally, the food ingested is low in calories, resulting to nutritional deficits and malnutrition. The mini nutritional assessment (MNA) scale was created to assess the risk of malnutrition in older people. 2 The health of the elderly is an essential factor in determining a population's health condition. 3 Malnutrition is especially frequent in the elderly since daily food consumption declines with age. Furthermore, the food consumed is low in calories, resulting to nutritional deficits and malnutrition. Multimorbidity is widespread with age, and it is reported to be more prevalent in underdeveloped nations. 4 ABSTRACT Background: Ageing is a physiological process that begins at birth, continues throughout life, and culminates in death. Poor nutrition is not a normal by-product of ageing; older persons are vulnerable to malnutrition due to physiological, psychological, social, nutritional, and environmental risk factors. Objective were to assess the nutritional status of elderly residing in rural areas with special reference to anthropometric measurements. Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in Mursundi Village at Alagpur block of Bolangir district of Odisha, India. A total of sixty elderly of age 60 years or above were selected for the study through random sampling method. Data was assessed using a well-structured and pretested questionnaire. Information was collected from selected elderly people through personal interview by repeatedly visiting the study area. Results: Out of the total 60 participants, the mean height of the male elderly was 149.5±7.23 cm subsequently mean weight was 50.33±8.89 kg and BMI score (22.97±2.25 kg/m²) of the male elderly was within the normal range. Similarly, the mean height and weight of the female elderly participants were 151.4±7.16 cm and 49.33±6.69 kg respectively while the BMI mean score (21.34±2.94 kg/m²) falls into to the underweight category. About 33.3% of the elderly males were normal, 43.3% underweight and 23.33% from overweight category. Similarly, majority females (26.66%) were normal, 50.0% were underweight and 23.33% from overweight category. Conclusions: Nutritional status of elderly subjects especially among females is very poor as detected in this study. There is need and scope for geriatric nutritional interventions mainly through nutrition education in rural population. Keywords: Nutritional status, Elderly, Malnutrition, Ageing 1 Department of Home Science, Rama Devi Women’s University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India 2 Department of Home Science, Jharsuguda Women’s College, Jharsuguda, Odisha, India Received: 02 June 2023 Accepted: 04 August 2023 *Correspondence: Dr. B. R. A. Ayushree, E-mail: br.abhaayushree@gmail.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20232682