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

Amanda Björnwall, Ylva Mattsson Sydner, Afsaneh Koochek and Nicklas Neuman
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Amanda Björnwall: Department of Food studies, Nutrition and Dietetics, Uppsala University, Box 560, 75122 Uppsala, Sweden
Ylva Mattsson Sydner: Department of Food studies, Nutrition and Dietetics, Uppsala University, Box 560, 75122 Uppsala, Sweden
Afsaneh Koochek: Department of Food studies, Nutrition and Dietetics, Uppsala University, Box 560, 75122 Uppsala, Sweden
Nicklas Neuman: Department of Food studies, Nutrition and Dietetics, Uppsala University, Box 560, 75122 Uppsala, Sweden

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 7, 1-42

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.

Keywords: commensality; eating alone; older people; loneliness; food intake (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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