Nutritional status and behavioral risk factors of chronic disease among the retired officials in Tangxian county in Hebei province

Objective To understand the nutritional status of retired officials and the prevalence of chronic diseaes and related risk behaviors among them in Tangxian county, and provide evidence for improving intervention program. Methods The questionnire survey combined with health examination were conducted in 208 retired officials in Tangxian. Results The prevalence of unhealthy life style was high in the people surveyed. The nutritional status evaluation indicated that the rate of weight loss was 2.4% and anemia rate was 1.0%, but the overweight or obesity rate was 61.5%. The health examination found that the average levels of body mass index and systolic blood pressure were high and the detection rates of hypertension, hyperglycosemia, high triglycerides and high cholesterol were 51.4%, 14.4%, 26.0% and 28.4% respectively. The prevalence of chronic diseases was 90.9% and 46.2% of the people surveyed suffered from 2 more chronic diseases. Conclusion Health education and health promotion on healty life style and behaviors should be further strengthened among the elderly in Tangxian to prevent chronic disease and improve their life quality.