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“I Go Upstairs and Eat in Front of the Television:” the Cooking and Eating Behaviors of Mexican Older Women Living Alone

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Abstract

The increasing tendency of older people living alone may pose a number of challenges including factors related to food insecurity, such as functional impairment, social isolation, and financial vulnerability. The purpose of this study was to explain the cooking and eating behaviors of Mexican older women living alone using a life course perspective. A qualitative research methodology was chosen and deductive thematic analysis was used to examine accounts given by 14 older women through one-on-one interviews. Findings showed that age-related transitions, role changes, and the social context in which older women are embedded have changed their cooking and eating behaviors. Participants mentioned the need to accept and adapt to changes in later life; however, the loss of commensality, cooking for one, economic constraints, a decline in health, and the disruption of family roles and rituals were identified as the negative aspects affecting the cooking and eating behaviors of older women.

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  1. Centro Universitario de Ciencias Económico Administrativas, Universidad de Guadalajara, Periférico Norte 799, Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico

    Ana Cecilia Reyes Uribe

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  1. Ana Cecilia Reyes Uribe
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Correspondence to Ana Cecilia Reyes Uribe.

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Reyes Uribe, A.C. “I Go Upstairs and Eat in Front of the Television:” the Cooking and Eating Behaviors of Mexican Older Women Living Alone. J Cross Cult Gerontol 34, 171–186 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-019-09368-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-019-09368-6

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