Eating Alone or Together Among Community-Living Older People-A Scoping Review

Overview

Journal Int J Environ Res Public Health

Publisher MDPI

Specialties Environmental Health
Public Health

Date 2021 Apr 3

PMID 33801775

Citations 18

Authors

Amanda Bjornwall

Ylva Mattsson Sydner

Afsaneh Koochek

Nicklas Neuman

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Research on healthy aging commonly concerns problems related to loneliness and food intake. These are not independent aspects of health since eating, beyond its biological necessity, is a central part of social life. This scoping review aimed to map scientific articles on eating alone or together among community-living older people, and to identify relevant research gaps. Four databases were searched, 989 articles were identified and 98 fulfilled the inclusion criteria. In the first theme, eating alone or together are treated as central topics of interest, isolated from adjoining, broader concepts such as social participation. In the second, eating alone or together are one aspect of the findings, e.g., one of several risk factors for malnutrition. Findings confirm the significance of commensality in older peoples' life. We recommend future research designs allowing identification of causal relationships, using refined ways of measuring meals alone or together, and qualitative methods adding complexity.

Citing Articles

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Bayih M, Kassa A, Demilew Y PLoS One. 2024; 19(8):e0307748.

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The impact of eating alone on food intake and everyday eating routines: A cross-sectional study of community-living 70- to 75-year-olds in Sweden.

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