Food insecurity in community-dwelling older Australians

Abstract

Objective: To identify the extent of food insecurity (defined as running out of food in the last 12 months and being unable to afford to buy more) amongst older Australians, and the characteristics of those who experience this condition. Design: Cross-sectional population survey. Setting and subjects: Respondents (n ¼ 8881) were community-dwelling older people (65 years and older) living independently in New South Wales, Australia, randomly sampled to participate in a computer-assisted telephone interview conducted during 1999 -2000. The response rate was 71%. Responses to a food insecurity questionnaire item were collected along with sociodemographic information, living arrangements, lifestyle and self-rated health. Univariate analyses and logistic regression modelling of factors for reporting food insecurity were conducted.Results: Approximately one in 50 older people reported experiencing food insecurity in the previous 12 months attributable to inadequate finances. The analyses revealed that those at risk can be identified as more likely to report poorer health, limited financial resources, not owning their own home and living alone. Gender and age differences were also evident. Conclusion: While only a minority of older Australians reported experiencing food insecurity attributable to inadequate finances, such people are at higher risk of malnutrition and associated morbidity. Food insecurity is an important public health and equity issue in older people that can be addressed through implementing appropriate income and social support policies.

Place and food insecurity: a critical review and synthesis of the literature

“…In terms of characteristics of the target populations studied, seven of the eighteen studies examined adults of varying ages (37)(38)(39)(43)(44)(45)(46) , seven explicitly examined families with children (sometimes with data collected using the child as the sampling unit) (40,42,(47)(48)(49)(50)(51) , three focused on seniors (41,52,53) , and one sampled a range of ages (children and adults) (54) . Seven out of the eighteen studies (39 %) focused exclusively on low-income or ethnic subgroups (39,44,46,(48)(49)(50)(51) .…”

“…Five studies used the six-item short form of the USDA Food Security Scale (37)(38)(39)42,47) , three studies used items from the Community Childhood Hunger Identification Project in the National Health and Nutrition Examination (NHANES) III surveys (46,50,53) , and one study was based on items administered in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (41) . The three Australian studies (45,52,54) and Dean and Sharkey (2011) (43) adapted and used items from the Radimer/Cornell measure, while Sharkey et al (2011) used an adapted version of the complete Radimer/Cornell measure (49) . Eight studies investigated different types or degrees of severity of food insecurity, by using either more than one questionnaire item or different thresholds for the USDA eighteen-item Food Security Scale or the Radimer/Cornell Scale (41,(43)(44)(45)(48)(49)(50)(51) .…”

Spatial variations of household food insecurity in East Gojjam Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia: implications for agroecosystem-based interventions

“…Food insecure individuals have elevated experience of anxiety, depression and other symptoms of common mental disorders compared with food secure individuals [14,15]. This can be true in three major pathways: Initially, food insecure households may have diets that lack critical micronutrients and micronutrient deficiency may lead to anxiety and depression [16]. Secondly, food insecurity may lead to uncertainties to food supply which leads to stress.…”

“…Secondly, food insecurity may lead to uncertainties to food supply which leads to stress. Finally, food insecurity may affect individual well-being through creating differences in the community [16].…”

Reduced food access due to a lack of money, inability to lift and lack of access to a car for food shopping: a multilevel study in Melbourne, Victoria

“…However, while there are studies in both representative samples and high-risk populations of food access limited by economic resources (15)(16)(17)(18)(19) , there has been limited research examining physical constraints to food access, although these additional factors have been hypothesised to restrict to access and impact on food intake particularly in the elderly (10) . Previous research, reviewed by White (20) , highlighted the role of car access in the choice of food outlets.…”