Social Factors, Dietary Intake and the Nutritional Status of Community-Dwelling Chinese Older Adults: A Scoping Review

Background/Objectives: Malnutrition can lead to poor health outcomes and mortality. Older adults are at a high risk of malnutrition due to age-related changes in their body and their dietary intake. The dietary intake of community-dwelling older adults can be affected by material and biopsychosocial factors. Conventional interventions often omit the influence of social factors on dietary intake—a particularly significant omission in the Chinese culture which sees eating as a social affair. This scoping review aimed to identify and understand the social factors associated with the dietary intake or nutritional status of community-dwelling Chinese older adults. Methods: This scoping review followed stages of research question identification, studies identification and selection, data charting, and results reporting. A systematic search was conducted in December 2024 for primary studies from databases, and reference lists of review articles were screened. Data extracted included characteristics of the study, measures of nutritional status, measures of social factors, and key findings. Results: A total of 964 articles were identified. Twelve studies were included in the review. Five social factors were identified as associated with dietary intake or nutritional status: (1) marital status; (2) living arrangement; (3) eating arrangement; (4) loneliness, social support and social isolation; and (5) social frailty. Being single, eating alone, experiencing loneliness or isolation, and being socially frail were found to be associated with poorer dietary intake or nutritional status, though the impact of living alone remains inconclusive. Conclusions: The relationship between social factors and dietary intake or nutritional status has not been extensively studied. Among the factors identified, it was found that eating arrangement and social frailty are potentially modifiable. Interventions targeting these social aspects could be developed.