Predictors of food variety and dietary diversity among older persons in Botswana.

Objective: We investigated whether food variety and diversity are associated with physical and cognitive functioning in older adults in Botswana and designed a simple set of screening questions that predict food variety in this population.

Methods: Data were collected (1998) as a national household survey of 1085 subjects 60 y and older. A food variety score, based on a food frequency checklist, was calculated by summing the frequency of weekly intakes of 16 food items (0 to 66). A dietary diversity score was calculated as the number of food groups consumed weekly (0 to 5). A representative subsample (n = 393) was randomly selected for the clinical component of the survey, and measurements on dependency and cognitive function were conducted.

Results: Low food variety was found: 35.2%, 59.3%, and 22.4% of subjects consumed no dairy products, fruits, and vegetables, respectively. A higher food variety score was associated with urban residence, ownership of cattle, higher education, and more frequent meals, and these indicators were used to construct a nutritional risk indicator. Higher food variety score was associated with better self-reported health and better cognitive function. Similarly, a higher score on the nutritional risk indicator screening tool was associated with desirable health outcomes.

Conclusion: A limited number of foods is consumed, leading to an overall pattern of poor food variety. Higher food variety was associated with improved physical and cognitive functions. A screening tool that predicts food variety in this population has been developed and is recommended to be incorporated at a primary care level to identify older adults most at risk of a poor quality diet.