The Relationship of Diet and Physical Activity to the Prevalence of Hypertension in the Elderly: A Cross Sectional Study at the Klampis Ngasem Health Center, Surabaya City

Abstract

Hypertension is one of the main health problems that often occur in the elderly, with a growing prevalence both globally and nationally. Modifiable factors such as diet and physical activity play an important role in the incidence of hypertension. This study aims to analyze the relationship between diet and physical activity to the incidence of hypertension in the elderly at the Klampis Ngasem Health Center, Surabaya City. This study uses an analytical observational design with a cross-sectional approach. The research sample totaled 65 elderly people, determined by the Slovin formula and taken by simple random sampling. Data was collected through questionnaires and interviews, and analyzed using the Chi Square test. Most of the elderly were aged 60–69 years (69.2%), female (73.8%), and had no family history of hypertension (89.2%). Based on diet, most of the respondents were classified as adequate food (80%), good eating frequency (67.7%), but still dominated by poor diet (57%). According to the classification of hypertension, the majority of respondents with a poor diet were in the pre-hypertension category (38.8%). Statistical tests showed a significant relationship between diet and hypertension (p = 0.021), as well as between physical activity and hypertension (p = 0.001). The conclusion of this study is that diet and physical activity are significantly related to the incidence of hypertension in the elderly. It is recommended to improve diet and increase physical activity to reduce the risk of hypertension.