• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.703-712
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• 2009

The principal objective of this study was to supply basic material determine basic information regarding effective health promotion regimens for elderly women via a comparative survey of health status by aging age between elderly women (=70 y) and college women. The subject groups of elderly women (=70 y) and college women were selected and surveyed from March to October, 2008, in the Seoul area. The average age of the elderly women assessed in this study was $78.64{\pm}7.30$, the average height was $147.07{\pm}5.72$ cm, and the average weight was $50.47{\pm}7.44$ kg. As compared with college women, a higher percentage of elderly women ate breakfast regularly, but the elderly women also experienced difficulties in chewing due to dentures, and therefore ate their meals with large quantities of liquids, and usually ate their meals within 10 minutes. The majority of elderly women suffered from at least one disease, and the most common symptom reported was hypertension (25%). 52.2% of elderly women and 47.8% of college women reported that they exercised 1~2 times per week. They reported that their favorite exercise was light exercise, such as jogging and athletics (73.1%). As compared with college women, the smoking rate was lower among elderly women, but some of the elderly women were long-time smokers or alcoholics. The differences in red blood cells counts, Hb, hematocrit, and MCV of the between elderly women and college women were significant. In addition, but the MCH and MCHC were higher in elderly women compared with college women and the total cholesterol of elderly woman ($175.62{\pm}38.89$ mg/dL) was significantly lower compared with college woman ($186.13{\pm}28.19$ mg/dL). TG ($127.89{\pm}51.25$ mg/dL) and LDL-cholesterol ($120.51{\pm}32.88$ mg/dL) of elderly woman were significantly higher than TG ($79.71{\pm}40.9$ 6mg/dL) and LDL-cholesterol($103.78{\pm}22.94$ mg/dL) of college woman (p<0.05). The levels of HDL-cholesterol ($58.78{\pm}12.90$ mg/dL) in the college women was significantly higher than the HDLcholesterol levels ($48.17{\pm}13.79$ mg/dL) of the elderly women (p<0.05). Serum vitamin C levels in elderly women were significantly higher than those of college women (p<0.05), whereas no significant difference was detected between the two groups. Consequently, it can be concluded that the appropriate education programs for dietary habits and health promotion are necessary for a healthier life. Additionally, it is necessary for individuals to precisely determine precisely their own health status, and develop appropriate dietary programs for themselves.