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This research analysed household budget survey data from Ireland, the United Kingdom, France and Italy from 1985/1987 to 2004/2005 to determine how age groups differ in terms of food-related practices, how these patterns are changing and to see if these patterns differ across countries. Descriptive analysis and fractional multinomial logistic regression were used. Food practices seem to be changing over time across all age cohorts in Ireland and the United Kingdom; older people have different food practices now than they would have had a few decades ago. However, in Italy and France, food-related practices seem to be related to age and life course with older people eating out less as they age than they did when they were younger. If these trends continue, older people will continue to prepare their own meals to a greater extent in Italy and France in the future with the retention of home preparation skills, while the home preparation of food will continue to decline in Ireland and the United Kingdom. These trends have implications for the health and well-being of older people in those countries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]