Beata Piórecka

The associations between stages of behavioral change, their conditons and health behaviors concerning physical activity and nutrition of older patients covered with community nurses care in Kraków. Implications for health promotion

In frame of the European Project CHANGE (Care of Health Advertising New Goals for Elderly people) the study of health behaviours regarding healthy nutrition and physical activity was conducted on patients in age of 60 and more covered with care of community nurses. Objectives: To assess association between physical activity and nutritional habits, stages of change of these behaviors among older patients and other psychosocial conditions regarding planning of health education intervention to change their health behaviours.

Methods: 108 persons at age avg. 69.6 (SD 60–87) were interviewed by questionnaire (assessing the frequency of intake of particular food products, physical activity, motivation and stage of change these behaviors, satisfaction with physical condition and general wellbeing) by the trained community nurses.

Results: Results showed sedentary style of life in most studied patients. Among physical activity the frequency of daily walking was the highest (69%), while 70% of older people did not exercise. In study group 42% were not aware of importance of physical activity for their health. But the awareness of importance of healthy nutrition was high, and about half of study group (48%) reported that they eat meals with reduced fat, and 80% eat high fiber food. The rules of healthy nutrition were not fully respected. Positive correlations were shown between intention to change, stage of change of health behavior and performance of physical activity and healthy eating. Those behaviors were positively related to well-being and satisfaction with physical condition.

Conclusions: Health promotion programs for older patients should be planned in different way depending on their stage of change of health behaviors. There is a need to raise awareness of importance of physical activity, and to educate older patients about recommended types of exercises and recreation. In case of recommendations of healthy nutrition, the awareness is high and performance definitely more frequent, therefore health promotion programs should stimulate development of permanent social support to maintain change of these behaviors.

Media advertising and nutritional behaviour in kindergarten children

The goal of this study is to evaluate the relationship between the time spent in front of a computer or TV and eating habits in kindergarten children.
The study was conducted in May and September 2012 in two kindergartens in Krakow (n=61) and in a kindergarten in Podłęże, a village near Krakow (n=34). The average age of the studied children was 5.02±1.17. 40 parents of boys and 55 parents of girls took part in the study. The differences in responses related to gender and place of living were checked. The analyses of correlations among particular factors, including BMI, were conducted by means of the Spearman rank.
Most of the kindergarten children (60%) spent an hour or less in front of TV. No relation between the time spent in front of TV or computer and gender or place of living or BMI interpretation was noticed. The time devoted to watching TV was connected with the frequency of snacks and fast-food consumption. The higher the education of mothers the less frequently children eat in front of TV. The frequency of sweetened beverages was also linked with the time spent in front of a computer.
The relation between time spent in front of TV or computer and frequency of high energy food consumption among children was confirmed in the study. An effort should be made to educate parents about probable increased risk of children’s obesity connected with watching media advertising.

Eating habits and risk of malnutrition among students of the University of the Third Age from Krakow and the poviat of Wieliczka

The problem of malnutrition prevalence is rarely evaluated among older people living in the home environment. The aim of the study is to assess eating habits and prevalence of malnutrition in a group of students of Universities of the Third Age (UTA) from Krakow and the poviat of Wieliczka. The study conducted in 2013 consisted of 77 people, whose average age was 67.16 ± 5.44 years, including 67 women and 10 men. The study involved 28 people from UTA in Krakow, and 49 of the selected UTA in the poviat of Wieliczka.

The risk assessment used a standardized mini nutritional assessment (MNA) scale, while the assessment of eating behaviour used a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). According to the MNA no one was diagnosed with malnutrition, while 10 respondents were at risk of malnutrition. These individuals had lower self-esteem of nutritional status and health, and, compared with the recommendations, consumed small amount of liquids during the day, which was associated with occurrence of mental stress or illness over the past three months.

According to the FFQ assessment, the majority of respondents implement proper eating habits. However, mistakes are made in respect of the low frequency of consumption of fish and milk and their products.

The aim of the study was to assess correlations between the consumption of selected non-alcoholic beverages and the prevalence of tooth erosion among adults visiting dental practices in Krakow. Dental erosion in group 124 people aged 18-55 was assessed using BEWE, while oral dryness with a mirror test. FFQ was used to assess fluid intake, supplemented with questions regarding oral hygiene and socio-demographic factors.Dental erosion, mostly mild, was found in 38.7% of participants. Dry mouth (second and third degree in a mirror test)concerned 16.1% of subjects. Dental erosion was significantly more common (p=0.01) among participants with dry mouth. More frequent consumption of sweetened beverages as well as 100% juices (fruit, vegetable) correlated with dental erosion. Overall consumption of such beverages and also milk, as well as daily fluid intake was significantly higher among subjects with dental erosion.

Incorrect behaviors regarding the quality and quantity of drinks may contribute to tooth erosion among adults.

Knowledge of adult inhabitants of Małopolska on nutritional fac tors in the development of color ectal cancer

Most cases of colorectal cancer are related to lifestyle, including eating habits. The aim of the study was to assess the level of knowledge of the inhabitants of the Małopolskie Voivodeship regarding specific food ingredients and nutritional behaviors that are important in the development of colorectal cancer depending on selected socio-demographic factors, as well as the assessment of the nutritional status of the respondents.

The study was conducted among 144 adults, residents of Krakow and the village of Gródek nad Dunajcem. The analyzes included responses from 126 people (89 women and 36 men). The diagnostic survey method was used, while the research tool was the original questionnaire. The first part of the survey concerned selected nutritional behaviors of the studied group, while the second part assessed the knowledge of nutritional risk factors for colorectal cancer. In addition, data on lifestyle, socio-economic data and participation in screening tests for the diagnosis of the lower gastrointestinal tract in the year preceding the study were collected.

In the adopted assessment scale, the level of knowledge of the respondents differed significantly, taking into account the place of residence (p = 0.0363), where 41% of Krakow’s residents found it very good, while 43.8% of rural residents found it insufficient. People living in the city have almost three times greater chance of getting a higher level of knowledge than people living in the countryside. Also, the knowledge of the respondents who declared higher consumption of portions of fruit and vegetables was 2–3 times higher than those who consumed these products less frequently.

The level of knowledge on nutritional behaviors related to the development of colorectal cancer is insufficient among rural residents. People who demonstrate favorable nutritional behavior have greater knowledge about modifiable cancer risk factors.

The rate of obesity in Poland increases rapidly, especially fast among children and adolescents. An important and also fully accepted by the society ways of fighting this phenomenon are social marketing and educational interventions. To make these activities effective they have to keep pace with changes in information behavior of target groups. But the importance of raising information competency of consumers is not fully understood by those who design and implement health programs and health Information behavior and literacy rarely are the subject of research. The goal of this study is to find where and how Polish citizens look for diet related information, what barriers they encounter, and whether they behave differently in comparison with citizens of other European countries.
Method: A survey administered through computer-assisted on-line web-interviewing to a probabilistic, stratified by age and gender, sample of respondents in Poland (n = 600). Comparison sample – same number of respondents in Belgium, Denmark, Italy and UK.
Results: 49% of surveyed Poles do not know where to look for healthy diet related information and have bigger problems with this task then the respondents in other surveyed countries. In comparison with Danish, a probability that a Pole knows where to look for such information decreases twice. Individual and environmental determinants strongly affect information knowledge and behavior. Men, educated, poorer and sicker persons have bigger problems with finding information and are less likely to attempt to look for it. Majority of respondents uses Internet and Google to look for healthy diet information. Only 23% of Polish respondents would turn to their GPs for healthy eating advice.