Abstract
Eating alone while living with family members is a risk factor for mental health decline in old age. However, little is known as to why older adults choose to eat alone, even with family present. This study therefore aimed to explore reasons for older adults eating alone despite living with family members, using a qualitative approach. Fifteen people aged 65 years and older (11 men and 4 women) who were eating alone while living with family members were included in the study. These individuals were selected from the participants of the Kashiwa cohort study conducted in 2016. Individual interviews were conducted using an open-ended format. All interviews were recorded and transcribed. The data were further thematically analyzed using a qualitative software package, NVivo 11. We extracted six themes as reasons for eating alone and hypothesized interactions among these themes. The extracted themes were: "age-related changes," "solo-friendly environment," "family structure changes," "time lag for eating," "bad relationships with family members" and "routinization." To assess interactions, the themes were categorized as "background factors," "triggers," and "stabilizers." The aforementioned themes could lead to the development and sustained behavior of eating alone among older adults living with family members. As most themes describe conditions that are likely to remain static, it may not be realistic to encourage such individuals to begin eating with family members. The promotion of meals with neighbors or friends could be effective in alleviating the negative consequences of eating alone.
Highlights
As people age, the chance of them eating alone increases
The results showed that often, the family structure changed due to the deaths of certain family members or children becoming more independent
All participants reported a trigger that led them to eating alone and most mentioned a background factor or a stabilizer that helped them to habituate to the behavior of eating alone
Summary
In Japan, where the aging rate exceeds 28.0%, the proportion of older adults living alone has increased from 4.3% to 15.5% in men and from 11.2% to 22.4% in women in the last four decades [1]. The quality and quantity of food we desire tends to change as we age [3, 13] This difference in food preferences between older adults and family members might result in separate meal preparation and intake behaviors. Another example is family members’ health conditions. If either the older adult or a family member becomes disabled due to aging, it would affect their relationships and even lifestyles, such as their eating behavior
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