Exploring the Longitudinal Stability of Food Neophilia and Dietary Quality and Their Prospective Relationship in Older Adults: A Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis

Poor dietary quality is a major cause of morbidity, making the promotion of healthy eating a societal priority. Older adults are a critical target group for promoting healthy eating to enable healthy aging. One factor suggested to promote healthy eating is the willingness to try unfamiliar foods, re...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nutrients 2023-03, Vol.15 (5), p.1248
Main Authors: Wortmann, Hanna R, Gisch, Ulrike A, Bergmann, Manuela M, Warschburger, Petra
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
Age
Aged
Aging
Chronic illnesses
Correlation analysis
cross-lagged panel analysis
Cross-Sectional Studies
Diabetes
Diet
Diet, Healthy
Dietary guidelines
dietary quality
Disease
Eating
Food
food neophilia
Food quality
Health promotion
healthy eating
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Morbidity
NutriAct Family Study
Nutrition research
Older people
Stability analysis
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Summary:Poor dietary quality is a major cause of morbidity, making the promotion of healthy eating a societal priority. Older adults are a critical target group for promoting healthy eating to enable healthy aging. One factor suggested to promote healthy eating is the willingness to try unfamiliar foods, referred to as food neophilia. This two-wave longitudinal study explored the stability of food neophilia and dietary quality and their prospective relationship over three years, analyzing self-reported data from = 960 older adults ( = 63.4, range = 50-84) participating in the NutriAct Family Study (NFS) in a cross-lagged panel design. Dietary quality was rated using the NutriAct diet score, based on the current evidence for chronic disease prevention. Food neophilia was measured using the Variety Seeking Tendency Scale. The analyses revealed high a longitudinal stability of both constructs and a small positive cross-sectional correlation between them. Food neophilia had no prospective effect on dietary quality, whereas a very small positive prospective effect of dietary quality on food neophilia was found. Our findings give initial insights into the positive relation of food neophilia and a health-promoting diet in aging and underscore the need for more in-depth research, e.g., on the constructs' developmental trajectories and potential critical windows of opportunity for promoting food neophilia.
ISSN:2072-6643
2072-6643
DOI:10.3390/nu15051248