Abstract
In this study, we analyzed the factors that have disrupted the healthy eating behaviors of the elderly, where the study area was a city center in Japan. We estimated that 49% of the elderly residents in the study area had a poor nutritional condition. Many of the subjects were concentrated in the central business district of the city. Our multilevel analysis indicated that weak ties with family and the local community and inadequate access to food had strong effects on a high proportion of the nutritionally depleted elderly subjects in this inner city study area. Thus, we can designate this area as a “food desert.” Food deserts are based on social exclusion. Previously, the issue of food deserts was considered to be mainly a social problem affecting rural areas and local cities where small neighborhood shopping areas have closed, thereby making shopping physically difficult for people without private cars. However, our study shows that reduced intimacy in people's relationships also increases the risk of food deserts.
