Diversity of eating patterns in older adults: A new scenario?

OBJECTIVE: To identify eating patterns and their distribution in a representative sample of older adults from the municipality of Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil. METHODS: This cross-sectional study used food frequency and sociodemographic questionnaires to collect the respective data from 355 older users, selected by stratified sampling, of Botucatu's primary health care units from March to June 2011. Principal component analysis extracted six eating patterns. Individual food intake scores were divided into tertiles, classifying individual adherence to each eating pattern as low, moderate, or high, to measure the relationship between adherence tertiles and sociodemographic variables. RESULTS: Six eating patterns were identified and named as follows: healthy foods; snacks and weekend meals; fruits; light and whole foods; soft diet; and traditional diet. Individuals with elementary school adhered highly to the patterns 'healthy foods' and 'fruits'. On the other hand, men and individuals with the highest education levels adhered highly to the pattern 'snacks and weekend meal'. Females adhered more often to the patterns 'light and whole foods' and 'soft diet'. The pattern 'soft diet' was also preferred by the oldest subgroup. CONCLUSION: The study population presented a diversity of eating patterns influenced by sociodemographic characteristics