Objective
This study aimed to examine the relationships between eating together and subjective health, frailty, food behaviors, food accessibility, food production, meal preparation, alcohol intake, ...socioeconomic factors and geography among older Japanese people who live alone.
Design
A cross-sectional, multilevel survey was designed. The questionnaire was distributed by post and self-completed by participants.
Setting
The sample was drawn from seven towns and cities across Japan.
Participants
A geographic information system was used to select a representative sample of older people who lived alone based on their proximity to a supermarket. Recruitment for the study was conducted with municipal assistance.
Measurements
A logistic regression analysis was performed that adjusted for the respondent’s age, socioeconomic status and proximity to a supermarket using stepwise variable analyses. The dependent variable was whether the respondent ate together more or less than once a month.
Results
In total, 2,196 older people (752 men and 1,444 women) completed the questionnaire (63.5% response rate). It was found that 47.1% of men and 23.9% of women ate together less than once a month. Those who ate together less than once a month had a significantly lower rate of subjective health, food diversity and food intake frequency than those who ate together more often. A stepwise logistic analysis showed that the factors most strongly related to eating together less than once a month were not having any food shopping assistance (men: OR = 3.06, women: OR = 2.71), not receiving any food from neighbors or relatives (men: OR = 1.74, women: OR = 1.82), daily alcohol intake (women: OR = 1.83), frailty (men: OR = 0.48) and income (men: OR = 2.16, women: OR = 1.32).
Conclusion
Eating together is associated with subjective health and food intake. Factors that affect how often older Japanese people who live alone eat together include food accessibility, daily alcohol intake, frailty and a low income.
Objectives
This aim of this study was to describe the association between shopping difficulty and food accessibility for elderly people living alone in Japan.
Design
A cross-sectoral, multilevel ...survey was designed to measure shopping difficulty from a food accessibility perspective. The questionnaire was distributed by mail.
Setting
The sample was drawn from seven towns and cities across Japan.
Participants
A geographic information system was used to select the sample: it identified the proximity of elderly people living alone to a supermarket. In total, 2,028 elderly people (725 men and 1,303 women) responded to the questionnaire.
Measurements
The binary dependent variables were shopping is easy/shopping is difficult. A logistic regression analysis adjusting for age and area of residence and using stepwise variable analyses was performed.
Results
The response rate was 58.6%. Overall, 14.6% of elderly men and 21.7% of elderly women consider shopping difficult. The stepwise logistic analysis showed that the food accessibility factors strongly related to shopping difficulty are infrequent car use (women: OR = 6.97), walking difficulties (men: OR = 2.81, women: OR = 3.48), poor eyesight (men: OR = 2.26, women: OR = 1.75), not cooking lunch by oneself (men: OR = 1.63, women: OR = 1.72), not having anyone to help with food shopping (women: OR = 1.45) and living over 1 km away from a supermarket (men: OR = 2.30, women: OR = 2.97).
Conclusion
The study concludes that elderly people’s assessment of shopping difficulty is related to their food accessibility. Important food accessibility aspects include car or motorbike ownership, walking continuously for 1 km, poor eyesight, and having cooking skills and having someone to help with shopping. These physical activity restrictions have a greater influence on shopping difficulty than do either income or proximity to a supermarket.
The present study describes findings in relation to perceived body size and 'desire for thinness' by age and residential areas ('metropolitan areas', 'large cities', 'small cities' and 'towns') among ...young Japanese women. Data on 1731 non-pregnant, non-lactating women aged 15-39 years from the 1998 National Nutrition Survey of Japan were used. Current body size was evaluated by BMI percentiles (lean, <5th; underweight, 5th less than or equal to BMI <25th; normal, 25th less than or equal to BMI < 75th; overweight, 75th less than or equal to BMI <95th; obese, greater than or equal to 95th), calculated for 5-year age groups. Perceived body size was obtained by self-report. We defined 'overestimation' as non-overweight, non-obese women who perceived themselves as being 'overweight' or 'obese'. Desired body size was evaluated by applying the desired BMI to these cut-off points. Of all the women, 48.4 % perceived themselves as being 'overweight' or 'obese', and 43.7 % desired a 'lean' or 'underweight' body size. Adjusted for the current BMI, the OR for 'overestimation' calculated by a logistic regression model was significantly elevated in the 15-19-year age group (OR 2.79; 95 % CI 1.76, 4.43), compared with the 25-29-year age group. The OR for 'desire for thinness' was significantly high in the 35-39-year age group (OR 2.74; 95 % CI 1.93, 3.89) and the 15-19-year age group (OR 2.26; 95 % CI 1.57, 3.24). Women living in metropolitan areas had higher OR for 'desire for thinness' (but not for 'overestimation') than did women in towns (OR 1.47; 95 % CI 1.05, 2.07). The findings suggest the nature of excessive weight concerns of young women in Japan; thus efforts to control such health-risk behaviours at a national level are urgent.
Objectives
This study aimed to examine the relationships among subjective well-being, food and health behaviors, socioeconomic factors, and geography in chronically ill older Japanese adults living ...alone.
Design
The design was a cross-sectional, multilevel survey. A questionnaire was distributed by post and self-completed by participants.
Setting
The sample was drawn from seven towns and cities across Japan.
Participants
A geographic information system was used to select a representative sample of older people living alone based on their proximity to a supermarket. Study recruitment was conducted with municipal assistance.
Measurements
To assess subjective well-being and food and health behaviors of respondents with disease, a logistic regression analysis was performed using stepwise variable analyses, adjusted for respondent age, socioeconomic status, and proximity to a supermarket. The dependent variable was good or poor subjective well-being.
Results
In total, 2,165 older people (744 men, 1,421 women) completed the questionnaire (63.5% response rate). Data from 737 men and 1,414 women were used in this study. Among people with a chronic disease, individuals with good subjective well-being had significantly higher rates than those with poor subjective well-being for satisfaction with meal quality and chewing ability, food diversity, food intake frequency, perception of shopping ease, having someone to help with food shopping, eating home-produced vegetables, preparing breakfast themselves, eating with other people, and high alcohol consumption. A stepwise logistic analysis showed that the factors strongly related to poor subjective well-being were shopping difficulty (men: odds ratio OR = 3.19, 95% confidence interval CI, 1.94–5.23; P < 0.0001; women: OR = 2.20, 95% CI, 1.54–3.14; P < 0.0001), not having someone to help with food shopping (women: OR = 1.41, 95% CI, 1.01–1.97; P = 0.043), not preparing breakfast (women: OR = 2.36, 95% CI, 1.40–3.98; P = 0.001), and eating together less often (women: OR = 1.99, 95% CI, 1.32–3.00; P = 0.002).
Conclusion
Subjective well-being of people with chronic diseases is associated with food intake and food behavior. The factors that affect poor subjective well-being in chronically ill older Japanese people living alone include food accessibility and social communication.
Cross-sectional.
To examine the association between health-related quality of life (HRQOL)/dietary satisfaction and perceived food environment in community-dwelling individuals with spinal cord ...injury (SCI).
Members of the Spinal Injuries Japan organization.
Subjects were 2007 Japanese individuals with SCI. A questionnaire conducted in 2015 included items addressing sociodemographic characteristics, HRQOL, dietary satisfaction and eight perceived food environment items. Responses from 506 individuals were analyzed (valid response rate=25%). Dependent variables were the physical and mental summary scores of the HRQOL and dietary satisfaction. The independent variable was the perceived food environment. We used a univariate analysis (in Model 1) and a multivariate analysis (in Models 2 and 3) as part of a binominal logistic regression analysis. In Model 3, we divided and analyzed the perceived food environment variable into 'access to food' and 'access to information'.
Both physical and mental summary scores were related to 'dietary information acquisition in the community'. Dietary satisfaction was related to 'balanced meals in the household', 'food and health information available from family' and 'right health and dietary information acquisition from the media'.
HRQOL and dietary satisfaction were differentially associated with perceived food environment factors in community-dwelling individuals with SCI. HRQOL was positively related to dietary information of perceived food environment in the community. Dietary satisfaction was positively related to perceived food environment in the household.
Objective
This study aimed to examine perceptions of shopping difficulty, and the relationships with satisfaction with state of health and meals, physical condition, food diversity and health ...behavior in older people living alone in Japan.
Design
A cross-sectional, multilevel survey was designed. The questionnaire was distributed by mail and self-completed by participants.
Setting
The sample was drawn from seven towns and cities across Japan.
Participants
A geographic information system was used to select the sample of older people living alone, by proximity to a supermarket. In total, 2,346 older people (827 men and 1,519 women) completed the questionnaire.
Measurements
The dependent variable was whether shopping was easy or difficult. A logistic regression analysis was performed, adjusting for age, socioeconomic status and proximity of residence to a supermarket using stepwise variable analyses.
Results
The response rate was 67.8%. Overall, 14.5% of men and 21.7% of women considered shopping difficult. The stepwise logistic analysis showed that the factors most strongly related to shopping difficulty were a subjective feeling of poor health (men: OR = 3.01, women: OR = 2.16) and lack of satisfaction with meals (men: OR = 2.82, women: OR = 3.69). Other related physical condition and dietary factors were requiring nursing care (men: OR = 3.69, women: OR = 1.54), a high level of frailty, measured using the frailty index score (women: OR = 0.36) and low food diversity score (men: OR = 1.84, women: OR = 1.36).
Conclusion
The study found that older people’s assessment of their shopping difficulty was related to satisfaction aspects, including a subjective feeling of poor health, and lack of satisfaction with meals, as well as physical condition. These have a greater influence on shopping difficulty than income in both sexes, and proximity to a supermarket in women.
Summary
The aim of this study was to describe the 20‐year changes in body mass index (BMI; kg m−2) and the prevalence of overweight in Japanese adults. Cross‐sectional annual nationwide surveys ...(National Nutrition Survey, Japan) were carried out with a large probability sample of the Japanese population. Data sets of the 1976–95 surveys, comprising 91 983 men and 120 822 women (≥20 years of age), were used. The analyses were carried out in age and gender groups, and by residential area according to the size of the municipality (metropolitan areas, cities and small towns). The mean BMI increaseed in men with an increment of +0.44 kg m−2 10 years−1 and slightly decreased in women, by −0.09 kg m−2 10 years−1, after adjustment for age. A decreasing trend of mean BMI was most significant in the female 20–29 years age‐group (−0.38 kg m−2 10 years−1), in contrast to an increasing trend observed in elderly women (60–69 and 70+ years age‐groups). The prevalence of preobese (BMI: 25–29.9 kg m−2) and obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg m−2) men increased from 14.5% and 0.8%, respectively, in the time‐period 1976–80 to 20.5% and 2.01% during 1991–95. The increasing trend was most evident in the youngest age‐group (20–29 years) and in those from small towns. The overall prevalence of preobese and obese women did not change during the 20‐year study period. The prevalence in younger women decreased, this trend being more prominent in metropolitan areas. Although the prevalence of overweight (BMI ≥25 kg m−2) in Japanese men and elderly women has increased in the last 20 years, the mean BMI in younger women, especially those in metropolitan areas, has decreased. A population approach to control obesity and prevent obesity‐associated diseases should be mainly focused on men and women older than 40 years of age.
To determine the prevalence of obesity and reference percentile curves of body mass index (BMI; kg/m2) in Japanese adults.
Cross-sectional nationwide surveys (The National Nutrition Survey, Japan) ...carried out in 1990-1994. A sample of 23,556 males and 28,751 females aged 15-84 y was used for this analysis.
The prevalence of grades 1 (BMI: 25.0-29.9), 2 (30.0-39.9) and 3 (> or = 40.0) overweight, was estimated to be 24.3%, 1.84% and 0.019% in males, respectively, and 20.2%, 2.87% and 0.032% in females, respectively, subjects aged 35-64 y after standardization to the age-distribution of the standard world population (WHO, 1993). The age-standardized prevalence of obesity (for BMI > or = 26.4, a criterion of the Japan Society for the Study of Obesity; and > or = 30.0 was 13.6% and 1.86% in males, respectively, and 13.5% and 2.90% in females, respectively, subjects aged 35-64 y.
The standardized prevalence of obesity (BMI > or = 30.0) in Japanese adults was quite low compared with the data in western populations.
A survey was undertaken of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), B2 (AFB2), G1 (AFG1), G2 (AFG2), ochratoxin A (OTA), and fumonisin B1 (FB1), B2 (FB2) and B3 (FB3) contamination of various retail foods in Japan ...during 2004-05. The mycotoxins were analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) or high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC). Aflatoxins (AFs) were detected in ten of 21 peanut butter and in 22 of 44 bitter chocolate samples; the highest level of AFB1, 2.59 microgram kg-1, was found in peanut butter. Aflatoxin contamination was not observed in corn products (n = 55), corn (n = 110), peanuts (n = 120), buckwheat flour (n = 23), dried buckwheat noodles (n = 59), rice (n = 83) or sesame oil (n = 20). OTA was detected in 120 out of 192 samples of oatmeal, wheat flour, rye, buckwheat flour, raw coffee, roasted coffee, raisin, beer, wine and bitter chocolate, but not in rice or corn products. OTA levels in the positive samples were below 13 microgram kg-1. AFs and OTA intakes through the consumption of foods containing cacao were estimated using the data for mycotoxin contamination in bitter chocolate and those for the consumption of foods containing cacao in Japan.
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