Living Arrangements Affect Dietary Quality for U.S. Adults Aged 50 Years and Older: NHANES III 1988–1994

Abstract

The number and proportion of older U.S. adults who live alone have increased dramatically in the past three decades, and there is concern that these individuals may have particularly poor dietary quality. We examined the association of four living arrangements (living with a spouse only, with a spouse plus someone else, with someone other than a spouse or living alone) with dietary quality (the number of low nutrients out of a possible 15, with low defined as <67% of the recommended dietary allowance) among 6525 U.S. adults aged 50-64 y and those >/=65 y in the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III 1988-1994). Among non-Hispanic Caucasian adults, those who lived with a spouse only had better dietary quality, with significant differences ranging from 0.8 to 1.5 fewer low nutrients compared with those with other living arrangements. Effects of living arrangements on dietary quality were also seen among non-Hispanic African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and those of "other" races, but differences were significant only for African-American men aged >65 y living with a spouse plus others (1.6 additional low nutrients compared with those living with a spouse only). Energy intake was strongly associated with dietary quality, but did not account for the associations between living arrangements and dietary quality. Although middle-aged and older adults with living arrangements other than living with a spouse only (including those living alone) tended to have poorer dietary quality, the effects varied substantially across age, gender and ethnic categories.

Does Food Group Consumption Vary by Differences in Socioeconomic, Demographic, and Lifestyle Factors in Young Adults? The Bogalusa Heart Study

“…It has been reported previously that married individuals tend to eat a greater number of meals and have higher energy intakes (23). These results from our study and previous studies (23) may be a reason for the increased weight gain among married individuals as reported in the literature (40).…”

“…It has been noted that intake of fast foods, snacks (5,6), and sweetened beverages (5) has increased among young adults, whereas intake of fruits, vegetables (7), and dairy products (6) has decreased. Various factors such as socioeconomic status (eg, income and/or education) (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16), demographics (eg, sex and ethnicity) (17)(18)(19), and lifestyle characteristics (eg, marital status [20][21][22][23] and physical activity [15,24,25]) have been thought to influence the food choices in this age group. However, the majority of studies conducted in the United States have either examined cost issues with respect to purchasing specific healthful foods (14,(26)(27)(28)(29) or have examined the influence of socioeconomic status on nutrient intakes (30,31) rather than the consumption of specific food groups.…”

Competition and Cooperation in Economics and Business

“…Based on Indonesia's Basic Health Research in 2013, the percentage of women living alone who routinely perform strenuous activities (such as sports) is 25.46 per cent, lower than women who live with a non-spouse (26.34 per cent). This result contrasts with the research of Davis et al (2000) which found the women who live with a non-spouse exercise less than those living alone (Table 1).…”

“…This is because women who live alone are more likely to have higher education (12.62 per cent) and to work (65.77 per cent) than those living with others (7.89 per cent; 33.82 per cent), and thus they require a higher energy intake (Davis et al, 2000) (Figure 2).…”

“…According to Davis et al (2000), women who live only with their spouses have lower BMI than those who live with others besides their spouses. They have less potential to smoke, are more likely to exercise regularly, and have better health reports.…”