Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.
The combined ESRC/MAFF food choice project identified seven research objectives: to assess and compare the influence of taste preference factors; microeconomic factors; personal and health status factors, practical considerations, and the accessibility of retail outlets on the selection and purchase of foods within two cohorts of elderly people; to assess and compare the influence of these factors on the amount purchased and consumed by retired and elderly people living at home; to estimate the nutritional and economic 'efficiency' of food choices in this age group; to identify components in, and influences on, the purchase consumption sequence where the estimated nutritional and economic 'efficiency' of choices could be improved by changes in retail practices, transport, health education, or pensions policy, or any other area of public policy; to generate a comprehensive database describing the 'social ecology' of food choices in later life for use both in future longitudinal studies and possible secondary analyses; to compare findings for the rural communities with those of the urban communities; to identify factors influencing the consumption of vegetables, fruit, and dietary supplements in both urban and rural communities.
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The study comprised three population survey instruments: The health and diet questionnaire, which covered socio-economic circumstances, physical health, psychological well-being, mobility, use of social and health services, dentition, storage and cooking facilities, smoking, alcohol consumption, dietary restrictions, appetite, cooking skills, access to and choice of food retailers, supplement usage. The dietary diary and food frequency questionnaire, which covered food eaten and bought, cost of the food, where the food was eaten, with whom the food was eaten, frequency with which named foods were eaten, types of products eaten. The follow-up interview, which covered attitudes to food and eating, food labelling, influences on choices of foods, brands and retailers, the influence of food on health, nutritional knowledge, concerns about food risks, resistance to change, locus of control, sources of information. Standard Measures The health and diet questionnaire included the following scales: The Brief Assessment of Social Engagement (BASE) scale, and the Nottingham Life Satisfaction Index, source Morgan, K. et al (1987) <i>British Journal of Psychiatry</i>, 150, pp.801-807; The NLSAA Health Index, source Bassey, E.J.B. et al (1989) <i>European Journal of Applied Physiology</i>, 58, pp.353-360; Demi-span, source Bassey, E.J.B. (1986) <i>Annals of Human Biology</i>, 13(5), pp.499-502. Demiquet and Mindex, source Lehmann, A.B. et al (1991) <i>Clinical Nutrition</i>, 10, p.18-22. Clifton Assessment Procedures for the Elderly (CAPE), source Pattie, A.H. et al (1979) <i>Manual for the Clifton Assessment Procedures for the Elderly (CAPE)</i>, Sevenoaks: Hodder and Stoughton Educational.
Multi-stage stratified random sample
Face-to-face interview
health and diet questionnaire and follow-up interview, both administered using CAPI. The dietary di
