Body weight and healthy diet among elderly Turkish immigrants

Peer-reviewed | Manuscript received: July 6, 2012 | Revision accepted: November 19, 2012

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Introduction

Migrants in Germany

At present the proportion of people with a migrant background in Germany is still significantly greater in younger age groups than in older age groups. In Hamburg, for example, around 13% of people over 65 have a migrant background, whereas among under 18s the figure is 46%. Most people with a migrant background living in Hamburg come from Turkey (18%) [1].

The already considerable and ever-increasing proportion of elderly people with a migrant background shows that institutions for elderly people, such as retirement homes, outpatient care services and counselling centres, will need to develop a more intercultural openness. There will be a need for research into issues relating to health and a healthy diet. Irrespective of cultural background, a healthy diet with a higher nutrient density and lower energy density is an important preventive goal in this target group. To realise this goal, however, culture-specific factors, such as e. g. traditional dishes and consumption habits, must be taken into account. Furthermore, elderly Turkish migrants are more likely to have a lower socio-economic status (SES) than other population groups. Data from the micro-census of 2005 [2] show that households of elderly people with migrant backgrounds generally have a far lower monthly net income and assets than households of comparable age groups without migrant backgrounds.

Calculations made by the Robert KochInstitut (RKI) [3] also prove that migrants from Turkey have the lowest equivalent household income¹ out of all the migrants questioned. According to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees [4], the reasons why elderly migrants often have less money on average are that Turkish men have frequently worked in semi-skilled jobs with lower wages (“the low-skill sector”) and that Turkish women have only rarely been employed at all.

¹Household income dependent on number and age of people

Summary

In the Sag˘lık study, 100 elderly men and women in Germany with a Turkish migrant background were questioned about body weight/body size, their fruit, vegetable and meat consumption and their income, among other things. The results reveal, particularly among women, a lower income and an exceptionally high prevalence of overweight and obesity. There was a significant correlation between lower income and greater body weight. Both men and women consume significantly low amounts of fruit and vegetables, in comparison with recommendations, whereby this consumption increases with higher incomes. There is a clear need for nutritional health promotion measures for the target groups, which to begin with appear more urgent for women than for men.

Keywords: Dietary behaviour, body weight, overweight, obesity, migrants, migrant background, Turkish, income

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