While life expectancy is increasing due to scientific advancement, quality of life in aging depends, among other factors, on the nutritional status and socioeconomic status of older adults. To determine socioeconomic status and its association with nutritional status as a predictor of food insecurity among older adults in southern Ecuador, a cross-sectional study of 188 older adults in urban areas and 212 in rural areas was conducted. Nutritional status, food insecurity, and socioeconomic status were measured. Data were analyzed using SPSS v 15.0 for descriptive statistics and bivariate analysis. Of the older participants, 59% had malnutrition, the majority women, and 24.7% were in poverty. Underweight was associated with low socioeconomic status for adults between 65 and 74 years old (OR = 7.710; CI 95% = 1.691–35.147), while obesity was associated with low socioeconomic status and non-manual labor (OR = 3.048; CI 95% = 1.268–7.326). Over 80% of older adults living in homes without children younger than 18 and at low socioeconomic status had food insecurity. The prevalence of underweight, overweight, and obesity points to widespread nutritional problems, especially in rural areas, that are significantly associated with low socioeconomic status. This demonstrates the need for multidisciplinary programs and government policies that can contribute to reducing food insecurity among the highly vulnerable older population.

La malnutrición y los factores que la determinan preocupan a nivel mundial; pues muchos de ellos podrían modificarse e impactar en favor de un envejecimiento saludable. El objetivo fue determinar la prevalencia de malnutrición y factores asociados en adultos mayores del cantón Gualaceo, Ecuador, mediante un estudio transversal en 250 adultos mayores, con muestreo probabilístico, estratificado y aleatorizado. Se evaluó el estado nutricional con Mini Nutritional Assessment y factores asociados como: depresión con la Escala abreviada de Depresión Geriátrica de Yesavage, actividad física con el Cuestionario Internacional de Actividad Física, el nivel socioeconómico con la Encuesta de Estratificación del Nivel Socioeconómico del Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos, y parámetros de laboratorio. Se realizó estadística descriptiva y la asociación con razón de prevalencia y su intervalo de confianza al 95% y análisis multivariado. La prevalencia de malnutrición fue 20.4 %, el riesgo de malnutrición 47.2% y estado nutricional satisfactorio de 32.4%. La media de edad fue 76,3 (±8.2) años. Se evidenció que la quinta parte de la muestra tomada de adultos mayores del cantón Gualaceo tenía malnutrición y se asoció con: depresión, sedentarismo, bajo nivel socioeconómico y anemia, ratificando a la malnutrición como un problema de salud pública.

Nutrition labeling is a public health tool that allows consumers to choose healthier foods and beverages. For this reason, there are protocols in place to monitor the food environment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the consistency of nutrition labeling on packages for processed and ultra-processed products (UPPs) found at the main supermarkets in Cuenca, Ecuador. We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study in which we identified label components on the packages of 1725 foods and beverages—including the nutrition table, statement on sweeteners, ingredient list, and the traffic light (TL) label—and determined the degree of consistency between the indicators reported on the traffic light label and those obtained from the information in the nutrition table. We found that 24% of products had inconsistencies in the traffic light label, and 10.9% of products had inconsistencies in the indicator for sugar specifically. The majority of inconsistencies were in the medium indicators for sugar (K = 0.68) and fat (0.75). The products with a medium indicator for sugar had a 1.98 (p < 0.05, 95% CI 1.15, 3.39) times higher chance of having inconsistencies in comparison with the low indicator. Health authorities must create new guidelines to allow for continued monitoring of the nutrition and traffic light labels on products accessible to consumers.

Emerging hardware and software technologies have increased the development of technological solutions for people, particularly those focused on older adults’ healthcare. Human-computer interaction is a research area that uses motion capture devices as input interaction devices, e.g., touch screen devices, wearables, eye trackers, and more. Numerous primary studies have provided support and training tools for older people with physical and cognitive diseases. However, there is a need for more secondary studies that systematically summarize and evidence these solutions. To address this gap, a systematic literature review was conducted to identify and interpret all studies from 2006 to 2023 that present human-computer techniques, motion capture devices, tools, and methodologies for older adults’ physical and cognitive training and support. The review aims to answer the research question: " What devices and applications of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) can be used to support the neuropsychological and motor condition of older adults?". The review identified 1140 potential papers from automatic searches in three digital libraries and manual searches in specialized journals and conferences. Three domain experts (computer engineer, electronics engineer, and psychologist) reviewed the papers based on inclusion and exclusion criteria and selected 79 papers for the review. Additionally, Fleiss’ kappa measure was used to achieve agreement between raters. The results provide a comprehensive overview of the state of research in this area, which can assist researchers in identifying weaknesses, directing research efforts, and new research lines. Additionally, the results can serve as a reference guide for professionals in technical and health areas who can contribute to creating better and innovative solutions to aid the older population’s physical and cognitive training and support.

Objetivo Determinar la prevalencia del síndrome metabólico, el nivel de actividad física y la asociación de estos factores en los adultos mayores de la sierra ecuatoriana. Métodos Estudio transversal que evaluó 387 adultos mayores de Cuenca-Ecuador, quienes desearon participar y firmaron el consentimiento informado. El diagnóstico de síndrome metabólico se realizó mediante los criterios del Programa Nacional de Educación sobre el Colesterol y el Panel de Tratamiento del Adulto III, para el valor de la Circunferencia Abdominal se consideró los criterios usados para la población asiática. El nivel de actividad física fue evaluado por la versión corta del Cuestionario Internacional de Actividad Física. Se compararon los grupos con y sin síndrome metabólico mediante el test Chi-cuadrado y el test t de student. El análisis de variancia fue usado para evaluar la asociación entre los componentes del síndrome metabólico y el nivel de actividad física. Resultados La prevalencia de síndrome metabólico fue alta (59,9 %), así como el nivel alto de actividad física (45 %), sin embargo no se evidenció asociación significativa entre el síndrome metabólico y nivel de actividad física. Conclusión Los adultos mayores diagnosticados con síndrome metabólico presentaron el mismo nivel de actividad física que los individuos sin este diagnóstico. Es necesario confirmar los presentes hallazgos usando instrumentos de medición directa de actividad física.

Elderly adults in southern Ecuador often distrust nutritionists' advice when implementing changes to their dietary practices. This distrust is no overt disregard for expert nutritional knowledge but rather the result of structural and situated practices that combine suspicion, misinformation, financial limitations, and family care. In this article, we examine eating practices among elderly adults in southern Ecuador in order to understand how nutrition distrust is constructed. In doing so, our aim is to understand how elderly adults incorporate-or not-expert nutritional knowledge into their eating practices. By ethnographically documenting daily eating practices among elderly adults in their homes, alongside expert nutritional discourses, our findings reveal that there is first, a local understanding of "eating healthy" connected to lived realities (e.g. farming practices, agricultural toxicity, age, education, polypharmacy, kinship ties), and second, a disconnect between expert nutritional knowledge and eating practices linked to how knowledge is produced and disseminated (e.g. power relations, scientific vocabulary, perceptions of health). Understanding how elderly adults build trust around eating can be a fertile ground for promoting more effective and suitable dietary advice among specific communities or groups like elderly adults.