Comparison of eating disorders, body image and self-esteem in the elderly with and without a history of fall down

 Old age comes with many changes to the physiological and psychological organs and functions of the body. Fall down is one of the serious issues of old age that occurs due to many factors. Among the problems recorded in old age are eating disorders, dissatisfaction with body image and low self-esteem. The aim of the present study was to compare eating disorders, body image and self-esteem in the elderly with and without a history of fall down.

 The current research was causal-comparative research and applied in terms of its purpose. For this purpose, 60 elderly women aged between 60 and 70 from Tabriz voluntarily participated in the research. The subjects were divided into two groups with and without a history of fall down. The fall down history questionnaire measured the fall down history of the volunteers. Also, eating disorders, body image and self-esteem were measured by Garner, multidimensional body-self relationships (MBSRQ) and Rosenberg questionnaires, respectively. Independent t-test was used to compare the mean variables in two groups and SPSS statistical software was used for data analysis.

 The results showed that there was a significant difference between eating disorders and self-esteem index in the elderly with and without a history of fall down (P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference between the body image index in the elderly with and without a history of fall down (P>0.05).

 According to the results of this research, people without a history of falling had a better condition than people with a history of falling in the indicators of eating disorders and self-esteem. Therefore, it is necessary to pay special attention to improving the nutritional conditions and self-esteem of the elderly with a history of falling.