The association between rurality, social capital, and nutritional risk in community-dwelling older adults in Canada: an analysis of baseline data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

Addressing malnutrition in the community setting is key to promoting aging in place and reducing potential burdens on the health care system. Identifying factors which are associated with high nutritional risk is key to developing effective nutrition interventions for community-dwelling older adults. This project will determine how the risk of malnutrition varies between rural and urban areas in Canada. It will also consider whether social capital is a feature of rurality that can help protect against nutritional risk. The proposed study aims to expand the discussion of malnutrition beyond the specialized field of nutrition and into broader discussions of health and aging.