Food Deserts Issues in a Local City

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the factors that have disrupted the healthy eating behaviors of the elderly. We supposed that there were two main factors, which were inadequate access to food and weak ties with family and the local community. In the local city that was composed of urban and rural area, these two factors were expected to cause the elderly residents a poor nutritional condition. An empirical study was conducted in City A that is located in the northern part of Tokyo metropolitan area. Logistic regression analyses were adopted. The dependent variable was “dietary diversity score”, and independent variables were “sex”, “age”, “income”, “family members living together”, “need of assistance”, “spending daytime alone”, “eating a meal with someone”, “the distance to supermarkets”, and “the frequency of participation in some hobby-related groups”. The results of logistic regression analyses showed that the dietary diversity scores of the elderly who lived in the area far from the supermarket were lower. Although controlling this effect, “the frequency of participation in some hobby-related groups” was statistically significant. These results suggested that inadequate access to food and weak ties with family and the local community have disrupted the healthy eating behaviors of the elderly.