Isolated appetites

: unveiling the relationship between social isolation and food preferences among the Portuguese population aged 65+

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the association between food choice and social isolation in older individuals with 65 years old and above. More specifically, we seek to investigate whether greater social isolation may lead to specific food choices in the older population individuals. A structured survey including social-demographic information, social isolation and food choice preferences were answered by 59 participants (55.9% females), aged between 65 and 87 years, from the north region of Portugal. The results did not support our assumption on the possible association between food choice and social isolation. We discuss that several obstacles may have led to such a result, such as the sample size, the measuring instrument which might not be suitable for the targeted population, as well as the recruitment process which might generate unconscious recruitment bias. Given this conclusion, more research is needed in exploring the effects of social isolation in one9s food selections in our aging societies.

Date of Award	15 Oct 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Sponsors	PRR - Recuperar Portugal
Supervisor	Patrícia Oliveira-Silva (Supervisor) & Diana Pereira (Co-Supervisor)