Characteristics of included studies
| Stated study objective | Study design | Year | Setting | Study population (n) | Description of exposure | Outcome(s) measured | Author | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| To fill gap in longitudinal evidence on food habits before and after old age retirement | Pre-post, with control (survey, mean 3 years; adjusted for 7 covariates) | 2000–2002 and 2007 | Helsinki, Finland | Municipal employees, males (n=527); females (n=1824) | Old age retirement (63–68 years in Finland) | Healthy food habits (FFQ, 8-item index) (6/8=healthy) | Helldán et al46 | PubMed/Medline |
| (1) To understand how retirement decisions of older Americans influence household food consumption patterns by gender; (2) to examine impact of the change in food consumption on weight | Panel survey (Health and Retirement Study) | 1992–2002 | USA | Population aged 50+ (n=6012) | Retirement of self and spouse (ie, not working for pay currently and for past 3 months, and self-reported retired) | Household spending on food at home; individual spending on eating out; BMI | Chung et al44 | Hand-searched |
| To study the impact of retirement on diet, physical activity, BMI and waist circumference, over a 5-year follow-up | Prospective cohort, with control (retired vs. employed, by job activity) | 1997–2002 | Rural town, Netherlands | Men aged 50–65 (n=288) | Not specifically defined (retirement) | Food intake (FFQ); physical activity; anthropometric measures | Nooyens et al42 | Web of Science |
| To preliminarily evaluate the impact of the Veggie Mobile [intervention] on the shopping and eating habits of a group of community-dwelling seniors | Pre-post, no control (postal survey) | 2008 | New York, USA | Residents aged 55+ (n=43) | Reduced cost of fruit and vegetable provided weekly through a mobile van | F&V intake (6-item questionnaire, 24 h); frequency of supermarket visits and amount spent | Abusabha et al45 | Web of Science |
| To revisit spending on food at retirement and explore the hypothesis that retirement is accompanied by a negative wealth shock that causes people to reduce spending | Panel survey (British Household Panel Survey) (involuntary/early vs voluntary retired) | 1991–2002 | UK | Men aged 45–64 (n=2000) | Retirement (ie, first year man is both not working and self-reports retired) | Weekly food spending | Smith43 | Hand-searched |
| (1) To examine the relationship between consumption behaviour and retirement; (2) to test the bargaining model by comparing married couples behaviour at retirement to that of singles | Panel survey (Panel Study of Income Dynamics) (unmarried vs matched co-habiting pairs) | 1979–1986 and 1989–2002 | USA | Population aged 45–74 (n=553) | Retirement of husband (ie, latest reported year retired) | Annual household food spending (1985 US$) | Lundberg et al41 | Hand-searched |
| To evaluate dietary habits and body composition in a longitudinal study of municipally employed women before and after retirement | Pre-post, no control (median 5-month interval) | Not reported | Malmo, Sweden | Female municipal employees (n=116) | Not specifically defined (legal old age retirement) | Food intake (diet interview); height; weight; skinfolds; and waist | Steen et al39 | PubMed/Medline |
| To examine shifts in fibre intakes between pre- and post-retirement periods | Pre-post, no control (survey) | Not reported | London, UK | Near-retired employees of 2 firms (n=183) | Retirement from work (ie, minimum 6 months not in work) | Fibre intake (7-day weighed diary) | Davies et al38 | PubMed/Medline |
| To investigate the impact of retirement on one's eating habits and food intake | Pre-post, no control (comparison 6 months pre with 19 months post) | Not reported | Toulouse, France | Persons near retirement (n=52), majority teachers | Not specifically defined (retirement) | Food intake (3-day diary); physical activity, perceived wellbeing | Lauque et al40 | PubMed/Medline |
FFQ, food frequency questionnaire.