Assessing Dimensions of Food Insecurity among Older People

Abstract

Food security of older persons is about having enough, safe and healthy food to meet the dietary needs and food preferences of older persons for healthy life without affecting their dignity.  The universally accepted dimensions of food security are availability, accessibility, utilisation and stability, but often used tools to assess food security status in households and individuals do not measure all dimensions. Assessing all dimensions of food insecurity of older people is a fundamental requirement for planning and implementing welfare programmes to enhance food security of senior citizens and healthy ageing. While assessing the dimensions of food insecurity of senior citizens, additional aspects which are exclusively related to older people to be taken into account to have accurate information about the food insecurity of older people, and the additional aspects can be called the gerontology dimension.  Though there are several factors to justify assessing all dimensions of food insecurity of older persons as a fundamental requirement, the important factors are food security of senior citizens is one among several human rights and several governments have been failing to fulfil this human right, population ageing is a present worldwide phenomenon, the increasing trend in the old-age dependency ratio, food security of older people is fundamental requirement for achieving national development and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), filial responsibility is eroding, and age-related discrimination and abuse are seen in several societies and nations, even in workplaces and families.