Whitelock, E and Ensaff, H orcid.org/0000-0003-4582-5244 (2018) On your own: Older adults’ food choice and dietary habits. Nutrients, 10 (4). p. 413. ISSN 2072-6643
Abstract
The UK, in common with many countries, has an ageing demographic. Changes accompanying ageing can influence food choice and dietary habits. This study explored older adults’ perceptions and practices related to dietary behaviour and the factors influencing their food choice in later life. Semi-structured focus group discussions were conducted with 30 individuals (aged 63–90 years) in a UK city. An inductive thematic approach was adopted for data analysis, and 4 themes and 12 sub-themes emerged: age-related changes (lower appetite, food changes, declining physical function); food access (food cost, support with food, maintaining independence); on your own (cooking for one, eating alone, shopping for one); and relationship with food (food variety, eating what you want, dieting). These influenced participants’ food acquisition, food preparation and cooking, as well as eating habits. Living alone and its substantial influence, as well as associated social isolation and loneliness were highlighted in many of the discussions. Given the possible implications on nutritional intake, further work is recommended in this area. Likewise, steps to improve food access, increase opportunities for commensal eating and fundamentally, address social isolation and loneliness in the older population should be taken.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2018, Author (s). This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. (CC BY 4.0). |
Keywords: | older adults; food choice; qualitative methodology; ageing; loneliness |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Food Science and Nutrition (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 29 Mar 2018 09:35 |
Last Modified: | 29 Mar 2018 11:01 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | MDPI |
Identification Number: | 10.3390/nu10040413 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:129077 |