The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the association between diet variety and physical frailty in community-dwelling older adults. Data of 577 older adults (mean age: 74.0 ± 6.3 years, women: 62.5%) were analyzed. Diet variety was assessed using the Food Frequency Score (FFS) (maximum, 30 points). The FFS assessed the one-week consumption frequency of ten foods (meat, fish/shellfish, eggs, milk & dairy products, soybean products, green & yellow vegetables, potatoes, fruits, seafood, and fats & oil). Physical frailty was assessed using Fried's component (slowness, weakness, exhaustion, low physical activity, and weight loss). The participants were classified into frail, pre-frail, and non-frail groups. The prevalence of physical frailty was 6.6%. This study found significant associations between physical frailty and low FFS after adjusting for covariates (odds ratio (OR) 0.90, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.84-0.97, p < 0.01). The optimal cutoff point of the FFS for physical frailty was ≤16 points. FFS lower than the cutoff point were significantly associated with physical frailty after adjusting for covariates (OR 3.46, 95% CI 1.60-7.50, p < 0.01). Diet variety assessed using the FFS cutoff value of ≤16 points was related to the physical frailty status in community-dwelling older adults.
Keywords: aging; diet variety; physical frailty.