Influence of selected psychosocial factors on dietary intake in the elderly

The rapidly increasing elderly population in the United States is causing mounting concerns about their health and well-being. Diet is an important part of health. The objective of this study was to see if gender, marital status and congregate meal participation influenced dietary intake in the non-institutionalized elderly. The randomly selected 290 elderly men and women were interviewed using food frequency and diet history methods. Men had a better nutrient intake than women for selected nutrients. Single elderly of both sexes had a better nutrient intake than the married elderly. Congregate meal participants had a poorer nutrient intake than the non-participants.