An observational study conducted on more than 10,000 older adults has linked home meal preparation to a lower risk of dementia, especially among those with less cooking experience.
Preparing a home-cooked meal at least once a week could reduce the risk of dementia in older adults by 30 per cent. This risk could be as much as 70 per cent lower for those with little cooking experience: that is what a study conducted in Japan and published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health suggests.
The researchers sought to understand whether the frequency with which people cook at home could be associated with the incidence of dementia, and whether this might depend on culinary skill level. The study involved 10,978 participants aged 65 or older. Participants completed questionnaires about how often they prepared home-cooked meals — ranging from never to more than five times a week — as well as about their level of culinary skill. These were assessed on the basis of seven abilities, ranging from the ability or inability to peel fruit and vegetables to the ability or inability to prepare stews. Dementia cases were verified through public healthcare system data, taking into account those who had required assistance.
Analysis of the data showed that a higher frequency of home meal preparation was associated with a lower risk of dementia in both men and women, but with differences depending on culinary skill level. Cooking at least once a week was associated with a 23 per cent lower risk of dementia in men and 27 per cent lower in women compared to cooking less than once a week. For those with poor culinary skills, cooking a meal at least once a week was associated with a 67 per cent reduction in the risk of dementia.
These findings were confirmed even after accounting for potentially influential factors such as lifestyle, household income and years of education, and proved to be independent of other activities positively associated with cognitive reserve, such as crafts, volunteering and gardening.
As this is an observational study, the researchers specify that it is not possible to draw definitive conclusions regarding a cause-and-effect relationship. Furthermore, mild dementia cases would not have been included in the registry data, and the classification of culinary skills may not have distinguished between those who cooked simple meals because they did not enjoy cooking and those who were genuinely unable to do so. The results may also not be generalisable, since the types of food consumed and methods of preparation vary from culture to culture. According to the researchers, in any case, for older adults, meal preparation is not only an important source of physical activity, but also of cognitive stimulation — meaning that creating an environment in which people can cook meals in later life could be important for the prevention of dementia.