Assessment of Calcium Intake among a Palestinian Elderly Population: Development of a Calcium Intake Mobile Application رسالة ماجستير

Abstract

The research work addresses calcium nutrition and bone health among the elderly (Ages 51-99) in Palestine, specifically those living in elderly homes and attending elderly clubs that are located in Ramallah and Bethlehem. The elderly is an important part of the society, and it is really important to concentrate on this class of the society as they are the most prone to chronic diseases including calcium-related diseases such as osteoporosis, bone fractures, vitamin D deficiency and lactose intolerance. The elderly is at risk for calcium deficiency for many reasons like low calcium intake with aging, medication interactions that may decrease the absorption of dietary calcium and osteoporosis chronic disease which interferes with bone strength and formation. The research study would be based on a sample of the elderly which is both stratified and random in nature. The stratified sampling is based on region and gender; otherwise it is random in nature. That should enable a fair regional and gender comparison between the elderly in Ramallah and Bethlehem, as well as between males to females. Calcium status will be estimated by the amount of calcium containing food that is consumed by the elderly, which is mainly found in dairy products like milk, yogurt and others foods like almonds, broccoli and sardines with bones. The Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) required for the elderly is 1200 mg/day for elderly females and 1000mg/day for elderly males aged between 50-71 years old. Above that age category, it is 1200 mg/day for both genders. The study will also focus on barriers that the elderly face which prevent them from adequate calcium intake. The outcome of the study is to show the adequacy of calcium intake among the elderly, mainly from food and possibly compare the results with other studies done on calcium intake and other elderly groups in regional and global parts of the world. It will hopefully raise awareness among the elderly to prevent the consequences of untreated symptoms of hypocalcemia like V numbness in the fingers, muscle cramps, poor appetite, abnormal heart rhythms which if left untreated could be lethal. Also, a mobile application was developed to calculate calcium intake, it is a faster approach that will help dieticians assess calcium among different groups of the society especially the elderly.