More people in the UK are living longer, but that does not mean that they have more years in good health. With older age, people from minoritized ethnic communities in the UK experience disparities in health outcomes that can have severe impacts on their health and quality of life.
However, there is a lack of relevant health and social care policy, underpinned by culturally appropriate evidence, to help increase the time those from ethnic minorities spend in good health and to reduce the need for health and care support in later life.
The importance of good nutrition as we age
Eating a healthy well-balanced diet and staying well hydrated is an important factor to improve our health as we age.
The body’s ability to perform many of its functions can start to worsen more rapidly around the age of 50, and even more quickly if we do not follow a healthy lifestyle.
We know that poor diet is one factor that is more likely to cause this and increase the risk of developing long term conditions in later life which impact health and quality of life, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart problems. These conditions can be more prevalent in certain ethnic minority groups, including UK South Asian, Black African and Caribbean communities.
There are lots of other reasons why people might have a poor diet, for example poor education, low income and difficulty accessing food because of the current cost of living crisis, lack of availability of traditional foods, media influences or language barriers.
Accordingly, we need to understand more about the factors that influence whether someone is eating well and develop new ways to help people to eat healthier.
Our Partners
Our partners have been involved throughout the project from co-designing project and research objectives and research materials through recruitment and data collection to co-producing findings and translating these into practice.
National survey analysis: We analysed data from two large national studies (UK Biobank and Understanding Society) to investigate fruit and vegetable intake and protein intake in South Asian (Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi), Black African and Caribbean ethnic minority groups compared with a White British/Irish reference population in the UK
Qualitative Photovoice study: With support of our project partners, we spent time talking with people in their communities and asked them to take photographs to explore how older South Asian, Black African and Caribbean adults living in the UK adapt their food choices and eating practices in later life in the context of migration, ageing, and changing social circumstances.
LINK TO PUBLISHED PAPERS
Toolkit: Using the data collected, we are working together with our partners to produce a new culturally tailored, adaptable toolkit with food-based recommendations, guidance and resources for older people in their communities to make better food choices and eat a healthier diet.
LINK TO 10 key tips flyer
We are also producing a Photo Resource using the photographs taken by the participants showcasing nutrition and ageing in diverse communities. These are freely available online as a training resource for use by students and healthcare professionals to enhance understanding and discussion of the diversity of foods eaten by older adults from ethnic minority groups in the UK.
LINK TO PHOTO LIBRARY RESOURCE-AFRICAN
LINK TO PHOTO LIBRARY RESOURCE-BANGLADESHI
LINK TO PHOTO LIBRARY RESOURCE-CARIBBEAN
LINK TO PHOTO LIBRARY RESOURCE-INDIAN
LINK TO PHOTO LIBRARY RESOURCE-PAKISTANI
Acknowledgements
We also gratefully acknowledge the Medical Research Council for funding this project (MR/Y010752/1). This research has been conducted using UK Biobank Resource under application number 124324 and UK Data Service project number 251326. We also thank our participants, stakeholders and the research team for their valuable time and contributions. Finally, we extend our gratitude to our project partners and Burnage Buddies for co-delivering this work, which could not be achieved without their support.
