September 11, 2014
by Caroline Petvin
(Health Secrets) Cooking at home can help to extend your life, according to a recent study. As well as the potential nutritional benefits of cooking at home, the study found that cooking at home was linked with better mental and social health, and with increased levels of physical activity.
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What did the study show?
The study was conducted by Monash University and the National Health Research Institutes in Taiwan, and looked at the cooking habits of almost 2000 people over the age of 65 who lived independently in Taiwan. The study ran for nine years.
When the participants in the study were initially assessed, the type of information that was recorded included how often they cooked, how often they ate out, their knowledge of nutrition, whether they were responsible for buying ingredients, their social and marital status, and their nutritional intake.
The participants were divided into four groups:
31% cooked at home at least five times per week
9% cooked at home three to five times per week
17% cooked at home twice a week or less
43% never cooked at home
During the course of the study, close to 700 of the participants died. Analysis of the data showed that the participants who cooked at home five times per week were 47% more likely to still be alive at the end of the ten year study period than those that never cooked at home.
The study showed that people who cooked at home had a better understanding of nutrition and how it could benefit health. They were likely to be more active, as food shopping and preparing a meal involves a certain degree of physical activity. The results also showed that women were more likely to reap the benefits of cooking at home, especially if they had a spouse at home to cook for, and it is believed that the emotional satisfaction of cooking for another person can benefit overall health.
The benefits of cooking at home