Potentials of and readiness for dietary style changes during the transition to retirement: a systematic review

Introduction:

The transition to retirement often involves major life changes. For instance, daily routines need to be restructured. Habits such as eating practices may change accordingly. This time of change depicts a window of opportunity for dietary changes. To implement effective interventions, it is crucial to identify the individuals' motivations to change their dietary practices. A systematic screening and evaluation of the existing body of knowledge is missing. Thus, this systematic review aims at identifying a) changes in dietary practices and b) changes in attitudes towards dietary patterns during the transition phase to retirement.

Materials & Methods:

A systematic review was conducted to synthesize and interpret findings of qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods studies. The review was carried out in accordance with the PRISMA standard criteria. The search strategy was developed based on four keys themes: diet, retirement, elderly and change. Eligible studies were those focusing on people aged 50 to 70 years undergoing the transition phase to retirement. Seven bibliographic databases were screened. Included studies were assessed in terms of their risk of bias. The data material is currently analyzed using a narrative synthesis design. Analyses will be finalized by May 2018.

Results:

Of the 858 identified studies, 75 were selected for full text screening. 11 studies were included for analysis, of which 6 had a qualitative, 4 a quantitative and 1 a mixed methods research design. The majority of the studies show a low risk of bias. Studies included focus on a variety of geographical settings, yet no German study dealing with the review question was identified.

Discussion:

Study results are inconsistent. Whereas few studies stress positive effects of retirement on dietary changes (e.g. increase in vegetable consumption), others point out little insufficiencies in nutritional intake in general. Most qualitative studies rely on hypothetical anticipations of changes in dietary practices. Quantitative studies mainly demonstrate correlations between retirement and dietary changes.

Conclusion:

Research on this subject is scarce and missing within the German context. Particularly, there are 1) only few studies relying on longitudinal, retrospective data and 2) hardly any studies investigating changes in dietary practices during the retirement transition under the light of socio-cultural factors. Filling this research gap is desirable, to effectively implement interventions supporting healthy ageing by utilizing the retirement transition as window of opportunity for dietary changes.