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Association between satisfaction with state of health and meals, physical condition and food diversity, health behavior, and perceptions of shopping difficulty among older people living alone in Japan

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The journal of nutrition, health & aging

Abstract

Objective

This study aimed to examine perceptions of shopping difficulty, and the relationships with satisfaction with state of health and meals, physical condition, food diversity and health behavior in older people living alone in Japan.

Design

A cross-sectional, multilevel survey was designed. The questionnaire was distributed by mail and self-completed by participants.

Setting

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

Participants

A geographic information system was used to select the sample of older people living alone, by proximity to a supermarket. In total, 2,346 older people (827 men and 1,519 women) completed the questionnaire.

Measurements

The dependent variable was whether shopping was easy or difficult. A logistic regression analysis was performed, adjusting for age, socioeconomic status and proximity of residence to a supermarket using stepwise variable analyses.

Results

The response rate was 67.8%. Overall, 14.5% of men and 21.7% of women considered shopping difficult. The stepwise logistic analysis showed that the factors most strongly related to shopping difficulty were a subjective feeling of poor health (men: OR = 3.01, women: OR = 2.16) and lack of satisfaction with meals (men: OR = 2.82, women: OR = 3.69). Other related physical condition and dietary factors were requiring nursing care (men: OR = 3.69, women: OR = 1.54), a high level of frailty, measured using the frailty index score (women: OR = 0.36) and low food diversity score (men: OR = 1.84, women: OR = 1.36).

Conclusion

The study found that older people’s assessment of their shopping difficulty was related to satisfaction aspects, including a subjective feeling of poor health, and lack of satisfaction with meals, as well as physical condition. These have a greater influence on shopping difficulty than income in both sexes, and proximity to a supermarket in women.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

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

    Midori Ishikawa & T. Yokoyama

  2. Department of Applied Nutrition, Faculty of Nutrition, Kagawa Nutrition University, Sakado, Japan

    Y. Takemi

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

    Y. Fukuda

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

    T. Nakaya

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

    K. Kusama & N. Yoshiike

  6. Center for Public Health Sciences, National Cancer Center, 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. Y. Takemi
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  4. Y. Fukuda
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  5. T. Nakaya
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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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Correspondence to Midori Ishikawa.

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Ishikawa, M., Yokoyama, T., Takemi, Y. et al. Association between satisfaction with state of health and meals, physical condition and food diversity, health behavior, and perceptions of shopping difficulty among older people living alone in Japan. J Nutr Health Aging 21, 514–520 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-016-0824-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-016-0824-9

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