Gender differences in the roles for social support in ensuring adequate fruit and vegetable consumption among older adult Canadians.

BACKGROUND
Adequate fruit and vegetable consumption has been linked to reductions in all-cause mortality, stroke, and cancer. Unfortunately, less than half of Canadians aged 65+ meet the standard international guideline for adequate consumption (≥5 servings per day). Among older adults, social isolation and low social support are barriers to proper nutrition, but the effects of specific types of social support on adequate fruit and vegetable consumption are unknown.

OBJECTIVE
This study sought to test hypotheses regarding direct and indirect pathways through which tangible and emotional/informational social support may facilitate adequate fruit and vegetable consumption among older adults.

METHODS
Analyzing 2008-2009 Canadian Community Health Survey – Healthy Aging component data (n = 14,221), logistic regression models were developed to examine associations between tangible and emotional/informational social support, eating behaviors (eating alone and preparing one's own meals), and meeting the recommended guideline of consuming ≥5 servings of fruit and vegetables per day.

RESULTS
In pooled models, emotional/informational support was positively associated with adequate fruit and vegetable consumption (OR = 1.16; 95% CI = 1.07, 1.27). Among men, neither social support form was directly or indirectly associated with adequate consumption; among women, adequate consumption was negatively associated with tangible support but positively associated with higher emotional/informational support. Both of these associations were mediated by not usually cooking one's own meals.

CONCLUSIONS
Programs and policies that seek to foster social support for older adults as a means of ensuring proper nutrition should consider the nuanced mechanisms through which different social support forms may operate for men and women.