Assessment of nutritional status of women in different socioeconomic levels living in gaziantep by healthy eating index

ABSTRACT SAĞLAM, E.E. Assessment of Nutritional Status of Women in Different Socioeconomic Levels Living in Gaziantep by Healthy Eating Index. Hasan Kalyoncu University, Institute of Health Sciences, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics Graduate Thesis, Gaziantep, 2018. This work was planned and conducted to determine the Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2010) among adult women in different socioeconomic levels. It was participated by 300 women between the ages of 19 and 65 living in Düztepe (low socioeconomic level) and İbrahimli (high socioeconomic level) districts of Gaziantep province. Sociodemographic characteristics, dietary habits, physical activity and daily food consumption of the participants were obtained by face to face questionnaire; anthropometric measurements were taken and their HEI-2010 scores were calculated. The relationship between Healthy Eating Index and the data obtained from participants was examined. Fifty percent of the participants were between the ages of 31 and 50.When education levels are considered, 30.7% were college graduates and 18.7% were primary school graduates. While 51.3% of the women were housewives, 43.7% of them were working in various sectors. Among the participants,34% had healthy weight, 37% were overweight and 1.3% were underweight. Moreover, 29% were exercising regularly, 17.7% were smokers and 21.7% were alcohol users. When the total HEI-2010 scores were compared, the score of participants living in Ibrahimli district (58.45 ± 12.53) was found to be statistically significantly higher than that of participants living in Düztepe district (45.85 ± 4.67) (p <0.001). It was found that the HEI-2010 scores of the participants increased with age (p<0.001). While the HEI score was 57.37 ± 11.67 in college graduates, it was 47.70 ± 8.99 in primary school graduates (p <0.05). The relation between HEI-2010 score and marital status and BMI was found to be statistically insignificant (p> 0.05). Increasing socioeconomic and education levels will be positively reflected in Healthy Eating Index. Key words: Diet quality index, Healthy Eating Index 2010