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Diet quality and the influence of social and physical factors on food consumption and nutrient intake in materially deprived older people

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 65, pages 538–545 (2011)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

To investigate the influence of social and physical factors on diet quality in materially deprived (low income) older people in the United Kingdom.

Subjects/Methods:

A diet quality index was obtained for 222 men and 440 women aged 65 and over living alone or with other adults of retirement age from the United Kingdom Low Income Diet and Nutrition Survey (2003–2005). The association between diet quality and social and physical factors was investigated by logistic regression analysis.

Results:

Analysis revealed several barriers to an adequate diet in the older low-income population. For both men and women, having the best quality diet was inversely associated with usually eating meals on one's lap as opposed to at the table (Adjusted odds ratio (ORs)=0.3, 95% confidence interval: 0.12–0.77 (men), 0.3, 0.17–0.56 (women)). For men, difficulty chewing was inversely associated with the best quality diet (OR=0.4; 0.13–0.99), whereas for women, current smoking and being 75 years or over were inversely associated with the best quality diet (OR=0.2; 0.06–0.42 and 0.5; 0.27–0.87, respectively); P value for all associations was <0.05.

Conclusions:

Results suggest that the social setting is an important determinant of diet quality in this group and future studies should collect details on where and with whom meals are taken to fully investigate the extent of this influence.

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Acknowledgements

LIDNS was funded by the Food Standards Agency. The present analysis and manuscript was funded by additional monies obtained from the WRVS. The authors gratefully acknowledge WRVS for funding the secondary analysis and Dr Lisa Wilson from the Caroline Walker Trust for her comments. LIDNS was carried out by the National Centre for Social Research, King's College London, and the Royal Free and University College London Medical School.

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Author notes

  1. B A Holmes

    Present address: 3Current address: Danone Research, Global Nutrition Department, RD 128, 91767 Palaiseau Cedex, France.,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nutritional Sciences Division, King's College London, London, UK

    B A Holmes

  2. National Centre for Social Research, London, UK

    C L Roberts

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  1. B A Holmes
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  2. C L Roberts
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Correspondence to B A Holmes.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Contributors: BH and CR were involved in all stages of LIDNS, carried out the analyses and prepared the manuscript.

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Holmes, B., Roberts, C. Diet quality and the influence of social and physical factors on food consumption and nutrient intake in materially deprived older people. Eur J Clin Nutr 65, 538–545 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2010.293

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