A role for tangible social support in ensuring adequate daily fruit and vegetable consumption among older adult Canadians

Introduction
Adequate fruit and vegetable consumption is a key nutrition indicator, and has been linked to a wide range of benefits – including reductions in all-cause mortality, stroke, and cancer. Unfortunately, less than half of Canadians aged 65+ eat at least five servings per day (a widely used guideline). High levels of social support have been found to improve overall nutrition, but no studies have focused specifically on the relationship with fruit and vegetable intake. This study sought to clarify whether tangible social support is linked to the odds of adequate fruit and vegetable consumption in a nationally representative sample of older Canadians.

Methods
Data from 14,596 respondents to the 2008-2009 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) – Healthy Aging component were used to develop multivariable logistic regression models that adjusted for sociodemographic and health-related confounders. In addition, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the impact of employing a more restrictive definition for adequate intake (≥7 servings/day).

Results
Individuals with moderate (OR = 1.08; 95%CI = 0.98, 1.19) and high levels of support (OR = 1.27; 95%CI = 1.17, 1.41) had increased odds of meeting the guideline for adequate daily intake in comparison to those with low levels of support in the adjusted model.

Discussion
These findings indicate a dose-response relationship between level of tangible social support and odds of adequate fruit and vegetable intake, highlighting a role for fostering social support among older adults as a novel strategy for improving this cornerstone of balanced nutrition.