Processed food intake assortativity in the personal networks of older adults

Abstract

Coalescing evidence shows that food habits circulate through social relationships. However, seniors' social networks and unhealthy dietary choices remain underexplored, particularly within rural Eastern Europe's unique socioeconomic and cultural contexts. We investigate how social networks affect the consumption of processed foods high in salt among community-dwelling older adults (64 years of age and older) from a Romanian rural community. We use an observational cross-sectional quantitative approach (a personal network research design) to collect self-reported information about the study participants (egos; n = 83), their social contacts (alters), and the relationships among them (ego-alter and alter-alter ties). We fit multi-level, mixed-effects models, clustering alters by their egos, and show that older adults eating processed food high in salt are more likely to be connected to alters with similar eating habits (assortativity). This result is of particular relevance when considering the nutritional health of older adults, as it implies that interventions targeting this demographic should extend beyond the individual to encompass their social environment. Despite the cross-sectional approach limitations, our work may enrich the understanding of dietary patterns among rural Eastern European seniors and provide an empirical foundation for designing targeted interventions that can mitigate health risks associated with high-salt diets in older populations.