How Older Citizens in Germany Perceive and Handle Their Food Environment—A Qualitative Exploratory Study

Rueter, Jana; Brandstetter, Susanne; Curbach, Janina; Lindacher, Verena; Warrelmann, Berit; Loss, Julika

doi:10.3390/ijerph17196940

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How Older Citizens in Germany Perceive and Handle Their Food Environment—A Qualitative Exploratory Study

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Medical Sociology, Department for Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University of Regensburg, Dr.-Gessler-Straße 17, 93051 Regensburg, Germany

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Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(19), 6940; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17196940

Received: 12 August 2020 / Revised: 16 September 2020 / Accepted: 20 September 2020 / Published: 23 September 2020

(This article belongs to the Section Health Care Sciences & Services)

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Abstract

Apart from individual factors like knowledge or personal motivation, the environment also influences a person’s eating behaviour. Food environments can be described as the collective physical, economic, policy and sociocultural surroundings, opportunities and conditions that influence people’s food choices and nutritional status. In order to explore how older citizens in rural Germany perceive and handle their food environment, we conducted semi-structured face-to-face interviews with 35 older adults (71 ± 7 years), asking about micro-, meso- and macro-level influences on eating habits. Participants reported social factors to be crucial in shaping their diets, such as preferences of family members or social expectations connected to roles (guest, host). On a physical level, structural aspects and resources in their nearby surroundings influenced shopping and eating behaviour (for example access to an own vegetable garden, local shopping facilities and restaurants). Macro-level influences such as the food industry were hardly mentioned. Participants noticed that the environment affects their diets but dealt with undesired influences using strategies of adaptation and behaviour change, rather than challenging the environmental influences. Public health projects should raise the awareness of the multiple environmental influences on eating behaviour and also help people to create healthier food environments. View Full-Text

Keywords: perceived food environment; nutrition; older citizens; community

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

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MDPI and ACS Style

Rueter, J.; Brandstetter, S.; Curbach, J.; Lindacher, V.; Warrelmann, B.; Loss, J. How Older Citizens in Germany Perceive and Handle Their Food Environment—A Qualitative Exploratory Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 6940. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17196940

AMA Style

Rueter J, Brandstetter S, Curbach J, Lindacher V, Warrelmann B, Loss J. How Older Citizens in Germany Perceive and Handle Their Food Environment—A Qualitative Exploratory Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020; 17(19):6940. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17196940

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rueter, Jana, Susanne Brandstetter, Janina Curbach, Verena Lindacher, Berit Warrelmann, and Julika Loss. 2020. "How Older Citizens in Germany Perceive and Handle Their Food Environment—A Qualitative Exploratory Study" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17, no. 19: 6940. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17196940

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How Older Citizens in Germany Perceive and Handle Their Food Environment—A Qualitative Exploratory Study

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