Association between combinations of nutritional status and quality of life and food purchasing motives among the elderly in South Korea

Hyunjung Lim,Doyeon Kim

doi:10.1186/s12955-020-01434-9

Abstract

BackgroundIn the elderly, nutritional status and quality of life (QOL) could potentially affect food purchasing behaviors. We examined the association between combinations of nutritional status and QOL and food purchasing motives among the elderly.MethodsA total of 143 community-dwelling elderly were recruited in Seoul, South Korea. Nutritional status and QOL were assessed and participants were divided into four groups according to those combinations. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to examine the odds of food purchasing motives according to combinations of nutritional status and QOL.ResultsAs a result of comparing the scores (mean ± SD) of the overall important factors for food purchasing, health related factors such as Nutrition quality and Preventive of treatment effect were the highest score (4.4 ± 0.8), followed by Price (4.1 ± 0.9), Ease of purchase (3.8 ± 0.9), Ease of chewing (3.7 ± 0.9), and Taste (3.6 ± 0.9). Participants with a low nutritional status and low QOL had more eating-related problems (77.8%) including chewing difficulty (48.9%) and constipation (17.8%) than those with a high nutritional status and high QOL (P < 0.05). Participants who were in high nutritional status and low QOL were more likely to be motivated by Ease of chewing (OR: 6.72; 95% CI: 1.44–31.37; P < 0.05), while those who were in low nutritional status and high QOL were less motivated by Taste (OR: 0.28; 95% CI: 0.08–0.94; P < 0.05) compared to those who were in high nutritional status and high QOL.ConclusionsThere were differences in food purchasing motives such as Ease of chewing or Taste according to combinations of nutritional status and QOL. These data are important in demonstrating differing motives for food choice across nutritional status and QOL, and also provide indications of which care service and food development may be needed in promoting health for the elderly in South Korea.

Highlights

In the elderly, nutritional status and quality of life (QOL) could potentially affect food purchasing behaviors
We performed a binary logistic regression analyses between nutritional status & QOL combination groups and food purchasing motive variables using participants who were in high nutritional status & high QOL as reference group, adjusted for age, sex, marital status, education, income, and number of chronic diseases
Participants who were in the high nutritional status & low QOL were more likely to be motivated by Ease of chewing (OR: 6.72; 95% CI: 1.44–31.37; P < 0.05) compared to high nutritional status & high QOL adjusted for age, sex, marital status, education, income, and number of chronic diseases (p < 0.05)

Summary

Introduction

Nutritional status and quality of life (QOL) could potentially affect food purchasing behaviors. The elderly comprise the fastest-growing population group, with WHO projecting a total of 1∙2 billion people over the age of 60 years by 2025 [1] These trends has important implications of the potential for many people to live a greater number of years in poor health, at risk of malnutrition, with multiple chronic conditions that sometimes translate into functional disability, anorexia, depression, isolation, and loneliness which are dimensions of quality of life (QOL) [2]. It is important to assess nutritional status when evaluating QOL [4] These dimensions such as functional changes in the elderly may limited food choice due to inability to prepare food or chewing difficulty [4]. The important question is to what extent are QOL and nutritional status related to food choice motives or barriers [5]

Methods

Results

Conclusion