Abstract:
The extraordinary increase of the elderly in the world and Thailand is now an ageing society in this year. Therefore, it should focus on the health of the elderly and a longevity with good health. Centenarians (persons living to age 100 and over) who has been recognized by many countries and is typical of the elderly who succeed in life. This research pays attention to dietary behavior of centenarians, living in the West of Thailand. Interesting dietary behaviors include number of meals per day, quantity of food eaten per day, type of food eaten, taste of food and food consumption frequency The applied qualitative study is conducted with 41 samples through survey and field researches. Data is collected by interviews with the samples. Findings from the study are as follows: The oldest sample is 110 years old, living in Prachup Khiri Khan Province. Average age of the Centenarians in West Thailand is 102 years (Standard deviation is 2.40). Centenarians females are more in number than males. Most of them are farmers and are still strong and healthy. Centenarian's pattern of consumption in West Thailand, most of them have proper dietary behavior, eating 3 meals a day. Most of them take about 5-10 minutes to finish a meal and they eat the same quantity at every meal. They eat a variety of food. In terms of the type of food, mostly of them prefer improper taste they like to eat spicy food and they dont like strong taste and oily food. They eat only well-cooked food. Most of them have never taken alcoholic drinks or smoked. In terms of food frequency consumption, most of them love local food, cooked by themselves. Rice is their main food. They also like to eat fish, various vegetables in their own gardens and seasonal fruits.