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Subjective Well-Being Is Associated with Food Behavior and Demographic Factors in Chronically Ill Older Japanese People Living Alone

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The journal of nutrition, health & aging

Abstract

Objectives

This study aimed to examine the relationships among subjective well-being, food and health behaviors, socioeconomic factors, and geography in chronically ill older Japanese adults living alone.

Design

The design was a cross-sectional, multilevel survey. A questionnaire was distributed by post 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 a representative sample of older people living alone based on their proximity to a supermarket. Study recruitment was conducted with municipal assistance.

Measurements

To assess subjective well-being and food and health behaviors of respondents with disease, a logistic regression analysis was performed using stepwise variable analyses, adjusted for respondent age, socioeconomic status, and proximity to a supermarket. The dependent variable was good or poor subjective well-being.

Results

In total, 2,165 older people (744 men, 1,421 women) completed the questionnaire (63.5% response rate). Data from 737 men and 1,414 women were used in this study. Among people with a chronic disease, individuals with good subjective well-being had significantly higher rates than those with poor subjective well-being for satisfaction with meal quality and chewing ability, food diversity, food intake frequency, perception of shopping ease, having someone to help with food shopping, eating home-produced vegetables, preparing breakfast themselves, eating with other people, and high alcohol consumption. A stepwise logistic analysis showed that the factors strongly related to poor subjective well-being were shopping difficulty (men: odds ratio [OR] = 3.19, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.94–5.23; P < 0.0001; women: OR = 2.20, 95% CI, 1.54–3.14; P < 0.0001), not having someone to help with food shopping (women: OR = 1.41, 95% CI, 1.01–1.97; P = 0.043), not preparing breakfast (women: OR = 2.36, 95% CI, 1.40–3.98; P = 0.001), and eating together less often (women: OR = 1.99, 95% CI, 1.32–3.00; P = 0.002).

Conclusion

Subjective well-being of people with chronic diseases is associated with food intake and food behavior. The factors that affect poor subjective well-being in chronically ill older Japanese people living alone include food accessibility and social communication.

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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 Applied Nutrition, Faculty of Nutrition, Kagawa Nutrition University, Sakado, Japan

    F. Hayashi & Y. Takemi

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

    T. Nakaya

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

    Y. Fukuda

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

    K. Kusama & N. Yoshiike

  6. Institute of Nutrition Sciences, Kagawa Nutrition University, Sakado, Japan

    M. Nozue

  7. Center for Public Health Sciences, National Cancer Center, Tokyo, Japan

    M. Nozue

  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. F. Hayashi
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  4. Y. Takemi
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  5. T. Nakaya
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  6. Y. Fukuda
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  7. K. Kusama
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  8. M. Nozue
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  9. N. Yoshiike
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  10. N. Murayama
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Correspondence to Midori Ishikawa.

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Ishikawa, M., Yokoyama, T., Hayashi, F. et al. Subjective Well-Being Is Associated with Food Behavior and Demographic Factors in Chronically Ill Older Japanese People Living Alone. J Nutr Health Aging 22, 341–353 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-017-0930-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-017-0930-3

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