People who live alone have unhealthy diets
People who love alone have unhealthy diets, a study by the Queensland University of Technology finds out.
Lack of cooking skills, no one to go grocery shopping with, and the lack of motivation to cook a meal are the main reasons for the poor diet. Men who live alone also have poorer diets than women who do the same.
Dr Katherine Hanna and Dr Peter Collins, from QUT’s School — Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, analysed 41 previous studies to investigate the link between living alone and food and nutrient intake.
The paper, the first comprehensive review of research investigating links between living alone and food intake, has been published in the journal Nutrition Reviews.
“Our results found that people who live alone have a lower diversity of food intake and a lower consumption of some core food groups like fruits and vegetables and fish,” Dr Hanna said.
Dr Hanna said people living alone were diverse in range of age, gender, education and socioeconomic status but could be unprepared for cooking for themselves for a range of reasons.
“For example, a person who is bereaved or divorced may have previously relied on their partner for food preparation and lack the sufficient cooking skills to make healthy meals,” she said.
“Economic factors also explain lower consumption of foods like fruits and vegetables and fish, as they require more frequent purchase and consumption, which can be expensive.
“The psychological impacts of living alone can also influence diet. Previous research has found loneliness, for example, is a significant predictor of malnutrition in the elderly.”
Dr Hanna said there were several strategies that could help address the possible barriers to healthy eating for people living alone.
“These include programs that focus on cooking skills for single people on a range of budgets, improved availability of affordable healthy food and developing socially acceptable opportunities for eating in communal settings.”
Category: Features, Health alert
