DIETARY CALCIUM INTAKE IN GROUPS OF ACTIVE AND SEDENTARY ELDERLY IN THE CITY OF SANTOS, SAO PAULO, BRAZIL

Introduction: Currently, 10% of the Brazilian population is more than 60 years old. Calcium is an essential element to the body, it is produced endogenously and only acquired through daily intake of foods that contain it. The inadequate intake of this nutrient increases the risk of osteoporosis, as well as other diseases, such as hypertension and colon cancer. Therefore, the present study had the objective of evaluating the consumption of dietary calcium by active and sedentary elderly in the city of Santos/SP- Brazil. Methods: Seventy elderly people of both genders were evaluated, on an average age of 69 and 75 years old for active and sedentary groups respectively. For nutritional assessment, we used 24-hour Dietary Recall and the quantification of calcium intake was done by software Avanutri 4.0. Weight, height and Body Mass Index (BMI) were measured for the assessment of body composition. Results: The data of calcium intake were compared with the recommendations advocated by DRI, which is of 1,200mg/day. Both groups consumed lower amounts of the recommended. However, the group of active elderly had a greater consumption (625,3 and 546,1mg for men and women respectively) in relation to the group of sedentary elderly (517,9 and 501,5mg for men and women, respectively), but there was no statistical difference between the groups. The low consumption may reflect on bone health and other bodily mechanisms of the evaluated groups. Therefore, nutritional education work is indispensable to inform the population.