Food access and dietary variety among older people
International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
ISSN: 0959-0552
Article publication date: 1 February 2004
Abstract
Decentralisation of many food retailers to edge‐of‐town and out‐of‐town locations has resulted in some older people experiencing difficulty in accessing food shops and those experiencing the greatest difficulties in food shopping are considered to be at the greatest nutritional risk. The present study examines how and to what extent usage of, and physical access to food shops might influence dietary variety. Shopping behaviour and dietary variety are investigated using focus groups, a consumer questionnaire and a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). A dietary variety score system, developed from the FFQ, is employed in this study. Neither usage of (particular) food shops nor basic accessibility variables are found to have a direct effect on dietary variety. Yet, coping strategies employed by older consumers to obtain food are revealed to be important. This suggests that more complex access factors remain an important issue for study in relation to the shopping experience of a proportion of the older population.
Keywords
Citation
Wilson, L.C., Alexander, A. and Lumbers, M. (2004), "Food access and dietary variety among older people", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 32 No. 2, pp. 109-122. https://doi.org/10.1108/09590550410521789
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2004, Emerald Group Publishing Limited