Survey of dietary habits in community dwelling elderly people living alone

Although skipping meals for a few days due to illness is thought to lead to poor physical condition among elderly individuals， the diet of elderly individuals living alone during illness has not been elucidated. Therefore， we conducted a questionnaire survey on the diet of elderly individuals living alone with the objective of establishing a system for meal support during illness for elderly community residents living alone. The following results were obtained： 1） The majority of elderly community residents living alone were women and aged ≥ 75 years with ≥ 10 years of experience living alone. 2） Rate of dependency on eating out and takeouts was significantly higher among men and community luncheon participants. 3） During illness， subjects primarily contacted relatives and depended on them for cooking meals. However， cooking assistance was not frequently provided. 4） Subjects who skip meals during illness were common among community luncheon participants， and commonly desired rice porridge. 5） Subjects were willing to pay approximately 500 yen for provision of meals during illness