Social network and health behaviors among Japanese older adults: a three-wave longitudinal study.

Health Promot Int

Active Aging Research Hub, Graduate School of Human Development and Environment, Kobe University, 3-11 Tsurukabuto, Nada, Kobe, 657-8501Japan.

Published: April 2023

AI Article Synopsis

  • - The study aimed to explore the impact of social networks on health behaviors like diet, exercise, and TV viewing among older adults, considering social networks as potentially modifiable influencers.
  • - Conducted on 908 Japanese older adults over three years using questionnaires, the research analyzed associations between social networks and behaviors like dietary variety, exercise time, and TV viewing.
  • - Results showed no clear or strong associations between social networks and health behaviors, leaving the question of whether social networks influence health behaviors in older adults still unanswered.

Article Abstract

Identifying modifiable determinants of behavior is essential for developing effective strategies to promote health behaviors among older adults. Although social networks are potentially modifiable determinants of health behaviors, their longitudinal associations have not been established in previous studies. The present study examined whether a larger social network is associated with higher dietary variety, longer time spent exercising and shorter time spent viewing TV among older adults. This is a longitudinal study. The data of 908 Japanese older adults were obtained through a three-wave questionnaire survey (Wave 1, December 2017 to January 2018; Wave 2, after 1 year; Wave 3, after 3 years) and analyzed. In each wave of the survey, dietary variety (dietary variety score), exercise time (hours per day), TV viewing time (hours per day) and social network (family and friend subscales of the Japanese version of the abbreviated Lubben Social Network Scale) were measured. The present study used latent growth, cross-lagged and simultaneous effect models to investigate the longitudinal associations of family and friend social networks with dietary variety, exercise time and TV viewing time. However, these models did not show clear and robust associations. Whether social networks are determinants of health behaviors among older adults remains inconclusive.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daad013DOI Listing

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