Abstract
BACKGROUND: Nutrition has significant impact on health and and is currently one of the most discussed topics. In the context of addiction services it is a relatively little-researched area.
This research study focuses on the quality of food and nutritional habits of clients in selected low-threshold contact centers in the Czech Republic. OBJECTIVE: The aim is to explore eating habits in terms of daily intake of essential nutrients, balanced diet, drinking regime and qualitative changes in the diet of a selected target group of drug users.
PARTICIPANTS: The sample consisted of 88 participants – percentage contained 42% women and 58% men. Participants were divided into five categories by their age.
DESIGN AND MEASUREMENTS: The research was conducted through a questionnaire survey, which collected demographic data (age, current height weight, information on housing and employment), the factors related to substance use (type, form, frequency) and eating habits (frequency of intake of essential nutrients and fluids, nutritional preferences and qualitative changes in the diet). RESULTS: The results indicate more than 50% of participants have inappropriate nutritional habits.
The results at the same time show qualitative differences in diet between specific groups of users (loss of appetite and weight loss in users of opioid substances and stimulants; increased appetite for cannabis and hallucinogens).