Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-ttngx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-10T08:21:10.740Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Determinants of food insecurity among elderly people: findings from the Canadian Community Health Survey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2021

Moses Mosonsieyiri Kansanga Open the ORCID record for Moses Mosonsieyiri Kansanga [Opens in a new window] ,
Yujiro Sano ,
Isaac Bayor ,
Joseph Asumah Braimah Open the ORCID record for Joseph Asumah Braimah [Opens in a new window] ,
Abraham Marshall Nunbogu  and
Isaac Luginaah
Moses Mosonsieyiri Kansanga*
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
Yujiro Sano
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
Isaac Bayor
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
Joseph Asumah Braimah
Affiliation:
Department of Geography and Planning, Queens University, Canada
Abraham Marshall Nunbogu
Affiliation:
Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo Canada
Isaac Luginaah
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
*
*Corresponding author. Email: mkansanga@gwu.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Food insecurity among elderly people is a major public health concern due to its association with several health conditions. Despite growing research and implementation of diverse income-based policy measures, food insecurity among elderly people remains a major policy issue in Canada. Additional research could inform food policy beyond strategies that target improving the financial resources of elderly people. Drawing data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (N = 24,930), we explored the correlates of food insecurity among older adults using negative log-log logistic regression techniques. Our findings show that certain categories of elderly people are more prone to food insecurity. These segments include seniors who are visible minorities (OR = 1.29, p < 0.01), live alone (OR = 1.13, p < 0.05), have a very weak sense of community belonging (OR = 1.40, p < 0.001), in poor physical health (OR = 1.20, p < 0.01), and those in lower age and income categories. These findings corroborate previous studies that demonstrate that food insecurity among elderly people is a complex phenomenon influenced by diverse socio-economic factors. In Canada, food security policies targeted at elderly people have largely prioritised poverty alleviation through income support programmes. While these programmes can improve the purchasing power of elderly people, they may not be sufficient in ensuring food security. There is a need to embrace and further investigate an integrated approach that pays attention to other contextual socio-economic dynamics.

Keywords

food insecurityageingolder adultsCanada
Type
Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 42 , Issue 9 , September 2022 , pp. 2067 - 2081
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bengle, R, Sinnett, S, Johnson, T, Johnson, MA, Brown, A and Lee, JS (2010) Food insecurity is associated with cost-related medication non-adherence in community-dwelling, low-income older adults in Georgia. Journal of Nutrition for the Elderly 29, 170–191.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brostow, DP, Gunzburger, E, Abbate, LM, Brenner, LA and Thomas, KS (2019) Mental illness, not obesity status, is associated with food insecurity among the elderly in the Health and Retirement Study. Journal of Nutrition in Gerontology and Geriatrics 38, 149–172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burns, C, Bentley, R, Thornton, L and Kavanagh, A (2011) 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. Public Health Nutrition 14, 1017–1023.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Choi, Y-J, Park, Y-S, Kim, C and Jang, Y-K (2004) Evaluation of functional ability and nutritional risk according to self-rated health (SRH) of the elderly in Seoul and Kyunggi-do. Journal of Nutrition and Health 37, 223–235.Google Scholar
Darling, KE, Fahrenkamp, AJ, Wilson, SM, D'Auria, AL and Sato, AF (2017) Physical and mental health outcomes associated with prior food insecurity among young adults. Journal of Health Psychology 22, 572–581.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dean, WR, Sharkey, JR and Johnson, CM (2011) Food insecurity is associated with social capital, perceived personal disparity, and partnership status among older and senior adults in a largely rural area of central Texas. Journal of Nutrition in Gerontology and Geriatrics 30, 169–186.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duerr, L (2007) Food security status of older adult home-delivered meals program participants and components of its measurement. Journal of Nutrition for the Elderly 26, 1–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fernandes, SG, Rodrigues, AM, Nunes, C, Santos, O, Gregório, MJ, de Sousa, RD, Dias, S and Canhão, H (2018) Food insecurity in older adults: results from the Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases Cohort Study 3. Frontiers in Medicine 5, 203.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Green-LaPierre, RJ, Williams, PL, Glanville, NT, Norris, D, Hunter, HC and Watt, CG (2012) Learning from ‘knocks in life’: food insecurity among low-income lone senior women. Journal of Aging Research, 450630,1-11.Google Scholar
Gundersen, C and Ziliak, JP (2015) Food insecurity and health outcomes. Health Affairs 34, 1830–1839.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Guthrie, JF and Lin, B-H (2002) Overview of the diets of lower- and higher-income elderly and their food assistance options. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 34, 31–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ishikawa, M, Yokoyama, T, Nakaya, T, Fukuda, Y, Takemi, Y, Kusama, K, Yoshiike, N, Nozue, M, Yoshiba, K and Murayama, N (2016) Food accessibility and perceptions of shopping difficulty among elderly people living alone in Japan. Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging 20, 904–911.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kim, Y, Park, A and Kim, K (2019) Food insecurity and depressive symptoms of older adults living alone in South Korea. Ageing & Society 39, 2042–2058.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, JS and Frongillo, EA Jr (2001) Factors associated with food insecurity among US elderly persons: importance of functional impairments. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 56B, 94–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leroux, J (2018) Household Food Insecurity Among Older People in Canada: The Exploration of a Public Health Issue Rendered Invisible (Doctoral dissertation), Queen's University, Canada.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leroux, J, Morrison, K and Rosenberg, M (2018) Prevalence and predictors of food insecurity among older people in Canada. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 15, 2511.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Leung, CW, Kullgren, JT, Malani, PN, Singer, DC, Kirch, M, Solway, E and Wolfson, JA (2020) Food insecurity is associated with multiple chronic conditions and physical health status among older US adults. Preventive Medicine Reports 20, 101211.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Locher, JL, Ritchie, CS, Roth, DL, Baker, PS, Bodner, EV and Allman, RM (2005) Social isolation, support, and capital and nutritional risk in an older sample: ethnic and gender differences. Social Science and Medicine 60, 747–761.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maroto, M (2016) Fifteen years of wealth disparities in Canada: new trends or simply the status quo? Canadian Public Policy 42, 152–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McIntyre, L, Dutton, DJ, Kwok, C and Emery, JCH (2016) Reduction of food insecurity among low-income Canadian seniors as a likely impact of a guaranteed annual income. Canadian Public Policy 42, 274–286.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ogg, J (2005) Social exclusion and insecurity among older Europeans: the influence of welfare regimes. Ageing & Society 25, 69–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Park, JY, Saint Ville, A, Schwinghamer, T and Melgar-Quiñonez, H (2019) Heterogeneous factors predict food insecurity among the elderly in developed countries: insights from a multi-national analysis of 48 countries. Food Security 11, 541–552.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pierce, MB, Sheehan, NW and Ferris, AM (2002) Nutrition concerns of low-income elderly women and related social support. Journal of Nutrition for the Elderly 21, 37–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Quine, S and Morrell, S (2006) Food insecurity in community-dwelling older Australians. Public Health Nutrition 9, 219–224.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rubin, DB (1987) Multiple Imputation for Nonresponse in Surveys. New York: John Wiley and Sons.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Russell, J, Flood, V, Yeatman, H and Mitchell, P (2014) Prevalence and risk factors of food insecurity among a cohort of older Australians. Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging 18, 3–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sharkey, JR and Haines, PS (2001) Black/white differences in nutritional risk among rural older adults: the home-delivered meals program. Journal of Nutrition for the Elderly 20, 13–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sidenvall, B, Nydahl, M and Fjellström, C (2001) Managing food shopping and cooking: the experiences of older Swedish women. Ageing & Society 21, 151–168.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, TJ and McKenna, CM (2012) An examination of ordinal regression goodness-of-fit indices under varied sample conditions and link functions. Multiple Linear Regression Viewpoints 38, 1–7.Google Scholar
Statistics Canada (2014) Government of Canada – Action for Seniors Report. Available at https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/seniors-action-report.html#tc3.Google Scholar
Statistics Canada (2018) Food Insecurity in Canada. Available at https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/82-624-x/2015001/article/14138-eng.htm.Google Scholar
Tarasuk, V, Li, T, Mitchell, A and Dachner, N (2018) Commentary – The case for more comprehensive data on household food insecurity. Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada: Research, Policy and Practice 38, 210–213.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tarasuk, V, St-Germain, A-AF and Mitchell, A (2019) Geographic and socio-demographic predictors of household food insecurity in Canada, 2011–12. BMC Public Health 19, 12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Temple, JB (2006) Food insecurity among older Australians: prevalence, correlates and well-being. Australasian Journal on Ageing 25, 158–163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tuthill, EL, Sheira, LA, Palar, K, Frongillo, EA, Wilson, TE, Adedimeji, A, Merenstein, D, Cohen, MH, Wentz, EL and Adimora, AA (2019) Persistent food insecurity is associated with adverse mental health among women living with or at risk of HIV in the United States. Journal of Nutrition 149, 240–248.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Unger, JB, McAvay, G, Bruce, ML, Berkman, L and Seeman, T (1999) Variation in the impact of social network characteristics on physical functioning in elderly persons: MacArthur Studies of Successful Aging. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 54B, 245–251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolfe, WS, Olson, CM, Kendall, A and Frongillo, EA Jr (1996) Understanding food insecurity in the elderly: a conceptual framework. Journal of Nutrition Education 28, 92–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woo, J (2000) Relationships among diet, physical activity and other lifestyle factors and debilitating diseases in the elderly. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 54, S143–S147.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wylie, C, Copeman, J and Kirk, SFL (1999) Health and social factors affecting the food choice and nutritional intake of elderly people with restricted mobility. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 12, 375–380.CrossRefGoogle Scholar