Cooking from scratch at home could slash the risk of dementia in older people, a study has suggested.
Elderly people can become increasingly reliant on frozen food and microwave meals rather than cooking at home, especially if they have any cognitive issues.
But researchers in Japan found that for older people, meal preparation is not only an important source of physical activity but also cognitive stimulus.
In fact it could reduce the risk of dementia by 30 per cent and in novice cooks with fewer culinary skills, that risk could be cut by 70 per cent.
“The risk of dementia became lower as people cooked more frequently, and the benefits of cooking were particularly significant for those with low cooking skills,” researchers said. “Creating an environment where people can cook meals when they are older may be important for the prevention of dementia.”
For the study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, researchers examined data from 10,978 people, aged at least 65. Their cognitive health was tracked for six years until 2022 as part of the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study.
Participants completed questionnaires on how often they cooked from scratch at home, with culinary skills assessed on seven factors, such as the ability to peel fruit and vegetables.
Around half of the participants cooked at least five times a week, while more than a quarter didn’t. Women and those who were experienced cooks tended to cook more meals at home than men and those who were inexperienced cooks.
During the follow up period, 1,195 people developed dementia, 870 died and another 157 moved away before developing dementia.
Analysis of the data showed that cooking more at home was associated with a lower risk of dementia in both men and women.
Cooking from scratch at least once a week was associated with a 23 per cent lower risk of dementia in men and a 27 per cent lower risk in women than cooking less than once a week.
And for those with few cooking skills, cooking a meal from scratch at least once a week was associated with a 67 per cent reduction in the risk of dementia.
This may be because cooking is more cognitively stimulating for these people as it is a novel experience, the study suggests.
Researchers said that preparing meals “provides opportunities for cognitive stimulation because it involves a cognitively complex series of tasks with multiple steps”, such as planning, acquiring ingredients, preparing food and serving.
It’s estimated 982,000 to one million people are living with dementia in the UK. This is projected to rise to 1.4 million by 2040, driven by an ageing population.
But keeping active, eating well, and staying socially connected can help support brain health.
“Cooking is a complex activity also involving transport, money handling, organisation and memory skills to do shopping and putting food together,” Eef Hogervorst, professor of biological psychology at Loughborough University, said.
She explained previous studies have shown weight loss can occur a couple of years before a dementia diagnosis “because people forget to eat and/or no longer have the skills required to cook.”
“That said, most takeaway meals are too fatty and salty, so home cooked, using whole foods with lots of fresh vegetables, is good for overall health and should be recommended,” she added.
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