Table 1.
Participants’ characteristics of older people attending lunch clubs (mean ± SD, or n and %).
| All (N=39) |
Males (n=17) |
Females (n=22) |
Significancea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 82.1±8.2 | 81.1±7.5 | 82.9± 8.8 | 0.504 |
| Anthropometrics: | ||||
| Body weight (BW) (kg) | 72.8±13.8 | 79.5±12.5 | 67.6±12.6 | 0.006 |
| Height (cm) | 162.9±9.9 | 171.2±5.8 | 156.4±7.2 | <0.001 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 27.4± 4.3 | 27.2±4.7 | 27.5±4.1 | 0.836 |
| Waist circumference (cm) | 100.2± 12.7 | 104.6±12.6 | 96.8±12.1 | 0.057 |
| Body fat (% BW) | 44.6±10.2 | 46.2±11.1 | 43.3±9.5 | 0.384 |
| Hand grip strength (kg) | 18.0±6.4 | 22.9±4.8 | 14.2±4.6 | <0.001 |
| Marital status: | ||||
| Married | 8 (20.5%) | 5 (29.4%) | 3 (13.6%) | 0.261 |
| Other (single/divorced/windowed) | 31 (79.5%) | 12 (70.6%) | 19 (86.4%) | |
| Living arrangements: | ||||
| Alone | 25 (64.1%) | 9 (52.9%) | 16 (72.7%) | 0.314 |
| With one or more adultsb | 14 (35.9%) | 8 (47.1%) | 6 (27.3%) | |
| Retirement status: | ||||
| Pension/savings/benefits | 37 (94.9%) | 15 (88.2%) | 22 (100%) | 0.184 |
| Work income | 2 (5.1%) | 2 (11.8%) | 0 (0%) | |
| Transportation means: | ||||
| By vehicle | 25 (64.1%) | 10 (58.8%) | 15 (68.2%) | 0.738 |
| On foot | 14 (35.9%) | 7 (41.2%) | 7 (31.8%) | |
| Residential proximity to the lunch club: | ||||
| Less than 1 mile | 28 (71.8%) | 13 (76.5%) | 15 (68.2%) | 0.725 |
| More than 1 mile | 11 (28.2%) | 4 (23.5%) | 7 (31.8%) | |
| Duration of attendance at lunch: club: | ||||
| Less than 1 year | 6 (15.4%) | 1 (5.9%) | 5 (22.7%) | 0.206 |
| More than 1 year | 33 (84.6%) | 16 (94.1%) | 17 (77.3%) | |
| Reasons for lunch club attendance: | Important | Neither | Unimportant | |
| To have a hot meal | 29 (74.4%) | 7 (17.9%) | 3 (7.7%) | |
| To meet with friends | 36 (92.3%) | 3 (7.7%) | 0 (0.0%) | |
| To dine outside home | 30 (76.9%) | 8 (20.5%) | 1 (2.6%) | |
| For a home-styled cooked meal | 28 (71.8%) | 5 (12.8%) | 6 (15.4%) | |
| To skip cooking at home | 17 (43.6%) | 16 (41.0%) | 6 (15.4%) | |
| For an affordable meal | 15 (38.5%) | 19 (48.7%) | 5 (12.8%) | |
| For the extra activities | 6 (15.4%) | 28 (71.8%) | 5 (12.8%) | |
BW: Body weight; SD: Standard deviation.
a Significance values refer to either independent t-tests or Fisher’s exact test for continuous and categorical variables, respectively.
b One female individual was in warden-controlled housing.