Gustafsson Kerstin, Sidenvall Birgitta
Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Sweden.
J Adv Nurs. 2002 Jul;39(2):164-73. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2648.2002.02256.x.
The aim of the present study was to explore food-related health perceptions and food habits among older women.
Food-related health promotion has its main focus on disease prevention. With a holistic perspective on health, social and psychological aspects also need to be considered for total wellbeing.
Qualitative interviews, representing an ethnographic approach, were carried out with 18 women, aged 65-88, living alone or cohabiting, who independently managed shopping and cooking. Interviews were conducted at the women's homes, and analysed for coherent themes. The women also gave data on three days' eating and drinking in a food diary. FINDINGS; Two themes were found: 'A healthy slimming meal or the usual' and 'Meals -- a pleasure or an obligation'. The first theme summarized the women's health perceptions related to food, where the dominating view was fear of fat. Some also had a bad conscience about not eating according to recommendations. Use of low-fat products was not a predominant habit among these women. In the second theme, meals in fellowship were perceived as a pleasure, while women living alone tended to simplify cooking and eating. This was also reflected in their food habits, with fewer cooked meals, as well as events with coffee with cakes, compared with cohabiting women.
Food-related health promotion must pay more attention to women living alone. Women who have lost their partners, may be at risk for poor nutritional intake as they often simplified the entire meal situation, while cohabiting women perceived food and cooking as a central task in their lives. One responsibility for nurses working in the community is to recognize and assess older women's deficient eating habits, assess them and plan eating together with the woman to prevent poor nutritional intake. Relatives and community staff could also be involved in this work.
本研究旨在探究老年女性与食物相关的健康认知及饮食习惯。
与食物相关的健康促进主要侧重于疾病预防。从整体健康的角度来看，还需要考虑社会和心理方面以实现全面的幸福。
采用人种学方法进行定性访谈，对象为18名年龄在65至88岁之间、独居或与他人同住且独立管理购物和烹饪的女性。访谈在女性家中进行，并对连贯的主题进行分析。这些女性还通过食物日记记录了三天的饮食情况。
发现了两个主题：“健康的减肥餐还是平常餐”以及“用餐——一种享受还是一种义务”。第一个主题总结了女性与食物相关的健康认知，其中占主导地位的观点是对脂肪的恐惧。一些人也因未按建议饮食而感到内疚。使用低脂产品在这些女性中并非主要习惯。在第二个主题中，与他人一起用餐被视为一种享受，而独居女性往往会简化烹饪和饮食。这也反映在她们的饮食习惯上，与同居女性相比，她们烹饪的饭菜较少，喝咖啡配蛋糕的活动也较少。
与食物相关的健康促进必须更加关注独居女性。失去伴侣的女性可能存在营养摄入不足的风险，因为她们往往简化了整个用餐情况，而同居女性则将食物和烹饪视为生活中的核心任务。社区护士的一项职责是识别和评估老年女性不良的饮食习惯，对她们进行评估，并与女性一起规划饮食以防止营养摄入不足。亲属和社区工作人员也可参与这项工作。
