NEW ZEALAND: Flagging Interest In Food Puts Older Single Men At Risk

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (Massey University), October 19, 2007: Many older men are at risk of becoming undernourished and suffering health problems due to poor nutrition, a Massey study has found. Food, health and nutrition researcher Jennifer Bowden, from the Auckland campus, investigated the eating habits of older single men. Standard fare for men now in their 70s and over is likely to have been ‘meat and three veg’ – invariably cooked by their wives. For this group of older single New Zealand men who endured war, the Depression, food rations and hardship, having to suddenly fend for themselves amid modern preoccupations with ‘healthy eating’, food labelling, the daily bombardments of dietary information and abundance and variety of foods in increasingly cavernous supermarkets can be bewildering, if not irrelevant and meaningless. In Adding Life to Years: Understanding barriers to healthy eating in a group of older single-living New Zealand men, Ms Bowden found that poor nutritional knowledge and limited cooking skills were among the barriers to older men eating well enough to maintain good health. Many were unfamiliar with the ubiquitous ‘5+ a day’ programme for encouraging fruit and vegetable intake. “They don’t really seem to know about this public health message, whereas they generally understand about reducing salt, fat and sugar,” she says. But as New Zealand’s ageing population increases, adding pressure on health services, she says it is even more important that older men are encouraged to eat well so that they enjoy a good quality of life in their later years. She recommended better public transport tailored to meet the needs of elderly people for food shopping, as well as willingness of workplaces to be more flexible about allowing staff to support ageing parents. A dozen men living on Auckland’s North Shore volunteered to take part in the Masters degree study, which involved a semi-structured interview as well as a nutrition knowledge and nutrition risk assessment questionnaire. Her research identified three key factors influencing the men’s food-related activities – individual circumstances of their lives, their knowledge and skills, and their food-related values. Limited finances, lack of personal mobility and transport and lack of reliable family, social and support networks were all factors that made it difficult for older men to buy and cook what is now considered healthy food, she says in the report. In the context of the New Zealand’s growing ageing population, it was important that families as well as health agencies and social organisations interacting with elderly men were supportive in ensuring they ate well, Ms Bowden says. Community-based education classes directed specifically at men to inform them about how to shop on a limited budget, as well as teaching basic food preparation, storage and meal planning could help, she suggests. Some men in her study were forced to eat less for financial reasons, Ms Bowden said. “In some cases the men were limiting their healthy food intake because they had limited income – this is a known nutrition risk factor. How do older New Zealand adults maintain a healthy diet on New Zealand superannuation?” Families played a vital role in providing practical and emotional support by inviting older men for meals, providing transport to get to shops and helping them prepare meals in their own homes. And social clubs – such as bowls and bridge – also provided opportunities for shared, convivial meals. Being forced to eat alone was a major disincentive for the men in bothering to cook for themselves. “They just see it as a lot of fuss for nothing,” she says. © Massey University 1999 - 2006