Padrão alimentar e intervenção educativa sobre alimentos funcionaisem idosos da estratégia de saúde da família em teresina, Piauí, Brasil

The objective was to identify the food pattern and perform an educational intervention on functional foods (FF) with the elderly. The income, education, sex and age of 345 elderly people assisted by the Family Health Strategy were investigated. The 24-h Recall was applied with 10% of the individuals, randomly selected, and for all the Food Consumption Frequency Questionnaire (FCFQ) and Knowledge Questionnaire on FF, before and after the educational intervention. The statistical tests used were c2 (Chi-square), Student's t and Pearson's Correlation Coefficient, with a significance level of 5%. It was observed that 67.8% of the elderly were between 60 and 75 years old, predominantly female; 52.2% did not attend school and had a monthly income of 1 and 2 minimum wages. For the dietary pattern, the foods included daily in the diet were from the cereals group (bread - 95.5%, rice - 92.2%), followed by meats, eggs and legumes, especially bean (61, 7%). The frequency of consumption of fruits and vegetables was low. It was observed that the elderly presented inadequacy in the dietary pattern, with foods rich in simple carbohydrates and fats, and deficient in micronutrients and dietary fiber. Before the intervention, 94.9% had no knowledge about FF, and after that, 6.5% remained in this condition, demonstrating the effectiveness of the intervention. It was concluded that the elderly presented food pattern with low diversification and preservation of the consumption habits of rice and beans. The intervention was effective, as it enabled the acquisition of knowledge about FF by the majority of the elderly. O objetivo foi identificar o padrão alimentar e realizar uma intervenção educativa sobre alimentos funcionais (AF) com idosos. Foram pesquisadas a renda, escolaridade, sexo e idade de 345 idosos assistidos pela Estratégia Saúde da Família. Aplicou-se o Recordatório de 24h com 10% dos indivíduos, selecionados de forma randomizada, e para todos o Questionário de Frequência de Consumo Alimentar (QFCA) e Questionário de Conhecimentos sobre AF, antes e após a intervenção educativa. Os testes estatísticos utilizados foram c2 (Chi-quadrado), t de Student e Coeficiente de Correlação de Pearson, com nível de significância de 5%. Observou-se que 67,8% dos idosos tinham entre 60 e 75 anos, predominando o sexo feminino; 52,2% não frequentaram a escola e possuíam renda mensal de 1 e 2 salários mínimos. Para o padrão alimentar, os alimentos incluídos dia