Spending Longer Time in the Kitchen Was Associated With Healthier Diet Among Japanese Older Women With Frailty

To evaluate the conditional effect of time spent in the kitchen on the association between frailty status and healthy diet among older women.

Secondary analysis of an online cross-sectional survey conducted in January 2023.

Six hundred Japanese women (aged ≥ 65 years).

Frailty status evaluated using the Kihon Checklist (25 affirmative questions assessing daily functions, weight status, and mental condition); healthy diet assessed by the days of consuming ≥ 2 meals that include staple, main and side dishes in a meal (SMS meal) in a day; and time spent in the kitchen.

Moderation analysis was used to evaluate the conditional effect of time spent in the kitchen on frailty status and SMS meal intake. Chi-square tests for independence were used to evaluate the differences in the Kihon Checklist items by frailty status.

Spending longer time in the kitchen indicated more frequent SMS meal intake and the trend was stronger among older women with frailty than those with robustness. All items except for 1 item regarding weight status (P = 0.15) were significantly associated with frailty status (P < 0.001).

Further studies are needed to evaluate the causal relationship between frailty status, healthy diet, and kitchen use.