Food habits, food beliefs and socio-economic factors in an eldery population

The purpose of the present paper was to describe food choices and patterns and relationships between food habits and socio-economic factors in an elderly population living in the centre of the city of Gothenburg, Sweden. The study population comprised 66 males and 122 females aged 70 or over ( mean 78 years). The dietary assessment method was a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. A majority (76%) had three meals of type main meal and/or light meal/sandwich meal a day, and the average number of meals was 4.6. Vegetables, fish and fruit were regarded as healthy by most probands, and fat, fat food and sugar as unhealthy. Significant relationships were found between food consumption, food beliefs and socio-economic characteristics. Food choices and the meal pattern seemed to agree with those in the Swedish population as a whole. Compared with the gerontological and geriatric population studies twenty years ago of 70-years olds (H 70 study), the pattern of alcohol consumption seems to have changed during this period. This study population was not representative of the Swedish elderly population as a whole, since all subjects were from the same central area of the city, and they were on average healthy and active. They had good food habits and a good knowledge of what food is healthy. But even in this rather homogeneous group of elderly people some obvious differences were seen regarding beliefs and intake.