Study on Global AGEing and Adult Health (SAGE): Food Insecurity in Relation to Physical, Cognitive, and Emotional Challenges among Older Adults

Heather McClure, University of Oregon
James J. Snodgrass, University of Oregon
Nirmala Naidoo, World Health Organization (WHO)

Food insecurity research among older adults shows links to physical, cognitive, and mental health challenges, yet most of this work has been conducted in the U.S. and Canada. The present study, part of the World Health Organization’s Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) Wave 1, investigated these links among adults 60 years and older (n=20,863) in China, Ghana, India, Mexico, South Africa, and Russia. Food insecurity was found in 15.7% of all participants, with food insecurity lowest in China (1.3%) and highest in Ghana (41.8%). Logistic regression was used to identify predictors of food insecurity (covariates: sex, age, urban/rural, education, income). Predictors of older adult food insecurity included limited physical mobility in India and Mexico, poorer cognitive function in South Africa, and depression in Ghana and South Africa. Results suggest multiple intervention targets to reduce risks of older adult food insecurity in these nations.