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Food accessibility and perceptions of shopping difficulty among elderly people living alone in Japan

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The journal of nutrition, health & aging

Abstract

Objectives

This aim of this study was to describe the association between shopping difficulty and food accessibility for elderly people living alone in Japan.

Design

A cross-sectoral, multilevel survey was designed to measure shopping difficulty from a food accessibility perspective. The questionnaire was distributed by mail.

Setting

The sample was drawn from seven towns and cities across Japan.

Participants

A geographic information system was used to select the sample: it identified the proximity of elderly people living alone to a supermarket. In total, 2,028 elderly people (725 men and 1,303 women) responded to the questionnaire.

Measurements

The binary dependent variables were shopping is easy/shopping is difficult. A logistic regression analysis adjusting for age and area of residence and using stepwise variable analyses was performed.

Results

The response rate was 58.6%. Overall, 14.6% of elderly men and 21.7% of elderly women consider shopping difficult. The stepwise logistic analysis showed that the food accessibility factors strongly related to shopping difficulty are infrequent car use (women: OR = 6.97), walking difficulties (men: OR = 2.81, women: OR = 3.48), poor eyesight (men: OR = 2.26, women: OR = 1.75), not cooking lunch by oneself (men: OR = 1.63, women: OR = 1.72), not having anyone to help with food shopping (women: OR = 1.45) and living over 1 km away from a supermarket (men: OR = 2.30, women: OR = 2.97).

Conclusion

The study concludes that elderly people’s assessment of shopping difficulty is related to their food accessibility. Important food accessibility aspects include car or motorbike ownership, walking continuously for 1 km, poor eyesight, and having cooking skills and having someone to help with shopping. These physical activity restrictions have a greater influence on shopping difficulty than do either income or proximity to a supermarket.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Promotion, National Institute of Public Health, 2-3-6 Minami, Wako, Saitama, 351-0197, Japan

    Midori Ishikawa & T. Yokoyama

  2. Department of Geography and Institute of Disaster Mitigation for Urban Cultural Heritage, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan

    T. Nakaya

  3. Graduate School of Public Health, Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan

    Y. Fukuda

  4. Department of Health and Nutrition, Division of Nutrition Sciences, Kagawa Nutrition University, Saitama, Japan

    Y. Takemi

  5. Department of Nutrition, Aomori University of Health and Welfare, Aomori, Japan

    K. Kusama & N. Yoshiike

  6. Center for International Collaboration and Partnership, National Institute of Health and Nutrition, Tokyo, Japan

    M. Nozue

  7. Japan Association for Development of Community Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

    K. Yoshiba

  8. Department of Health and Nutrition, University of Niigata prefecture, Niigata, Japan

    N. Murayama

Authors
  1. Midori Ishikawa
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  2. T. Yokoyama
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  3. T. Nakaya
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  4. Y. Fukuda
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  5. Y. Takemi
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  6. K. Kusama
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  7. N. Yoshiike
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  8. M. Nozue
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  9. K. Yoshiba
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  10. N. Murayama
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Midori Ishikawa.

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Ishikawa, M., Yokoyama, T., Nakaya, T. et al. Food accessibility and perceptions of shopping difficulty among elderly people living alone in Japan. J Nutr Health Aging 20, 904–911 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-015-0694-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-015-0694-6

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