Linking Food Insecurity to Elder Quality of Life and Its Impact on Life Expectancy: A Study of Older Individuals in India

Papai Barman, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

Quality of Life (QoL) is crucial for older adults' well-being, focusing on physical, mental, and social health. However, the direct impact of food insecurity on QoL in this population remains under-explored. Given that food security is a fundamental necessity, it significantly affects QoL by influencing nutritional status and, consequently physical and mental health. Therefore, addressing the gap, present study attempted to examine the association between food insecurity and QoL and its subsequent impact on life expectancy among older people in India using a secondary data: Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (2017-18). Multiple linear regression was employed. Results revealed that the older population had the highest score in environmental domain (0.92) and the lowest in social domain (0.21). The overall EQoL score in India was 0.64, with a notable decline to 0.53 in those experiencing higher levels of food insecurity. Regression results exhibited that one unit increase in food insecurity associated with a 0.12 unit decrease in EQoL. EQoL is a key factor in life expectancy, with improvements linked to an increase of up to 3.79 months in life expectancy for individuals aged 60 to 67. The present study underscores the significant association between food insecurity and EQoL and life expectancy.

Keywords: Population Ageing, Health and Morbidity, Mortality and Longevity, Population and Development

See paper.