THE RELATIONSHIP OF NUTRITION AND WALKING WITH BODY COMPOSITION, ANXIETY AND SLEEP QUALITY IN HEALTHY ELDERLY OVER 65

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of healthy eating practices and walking exercise on body composition, anxiety and sleep quality in the elderly over 65 years of age. Participants (n=30) were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. Individualized medical nutrition treatments were prepared by a specialist dietitian for 12 weeks and regular follow-ups were made on a weekly basis for the experimental group. In addition to the nutrition and diet program, the experimental group was given walking exercise for 45 minutes, 3 days a week for 12 weeks. Body composition measurements of all participants were taken at the beginning and end of the study, Three Factor Eating Questionnaire, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, Katz Activities of Daily Living Scale and Pittsburg Sleep Quality Scale were applied. There was no statistically significant difference in terms of body composition, anxiety and sleep quality in the healthy elderly group in which walking exercise and personalized nutrition therapy were applied. A statistically significant difference was found in terms of Hamilton scores with regard to the processes in those who didn’t exercise (Z=-2.913; p=0.010) and the post-test Hamilton scores of those who didn’t exercise were significantly lower than the first test.