Longitudinal studies of effects of eating alone on health status in older Japanese adults

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26882010
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Eating habits
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Tani Yukako 東京大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 研究員 (70735422)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-08-29 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 孤食 / 独居 / 高齢者 / 食行動 / やせ / 肥満 / うつ / 死亡

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Eating is a daily and social activity, and eating with other people may be an important determinant of physical and mental health. I used data from a large-scale, population-based study of Japanese people aged 65 or older, and examined whether eating alone is associated with dietary behaviors, body weight status, depression and mortality. I found that eating alone may be a risk factor for unhealthy eating behaviors, obesity, underweight, depression and mortality, with potential gender-specific interactions with cohabitation status.

Free Research Field

公衆衛生学