The Autonomous Capacity of the Elderly Population in Spain for Shopping and Preparing Meals

Abstract

A loss of the ability to buy and prepare meals, especially in people aged 65 and over, leads to a deterioration in their optimal level of nutrition. The Index of Autonomy in Food Acquisition (IAFA) was used to identify contributing factors. This is a composite indicator for shopping and meal preparation that can be used to assess the degree of autonomous capacity observed in a specific group. Data from the European Health Survey in Spain (7167 respondents aged 65 and over) show that capacity decreased with age and that women were less affected than men, with very little difference found in levels of autonomous capacity by territory. However, in relation to different income levels, after standardizing for age and sex, no evidence was found for differences in the ability to access and prepare meals in groups that were separated by income level. This result shows the importance of standardizing when analysing food acquisition autonomy in groups of people aged 65 years and over.