Associations of Cooking Skill with Social Relationships and Social Capital Among Older Men and Women in Japan: Results from the JAGES

Overview

Journal Int J Environ Res Public Health

Publisher MDPI

Specialties Environmental Health
Public Health

Date 2023 Mar 11

PMID 36901644

Authors

Yukako Tani

Takeo Fujiwara

Katsunori Kondo

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The health benefits of social relationships and social capital are well known. However, little research has examined the determinants of social relationships and social capital. We examined whether cooking skill was associated with social relationships and social capital in older Japanese people. We used 2016 Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study data on a population-based sample of men and women aged ≥ 65 years ( = 21,061). Cooking skill was assessed using a scale with good validity. Social relationships were evaluated by assessing neighborhood ties, frequency and number of meetings with friends, and frequent meals with friends. Individual-level social capital was evaluated by assessing civic participation, social cohesion, and reciprocity. Among women, high-level cooking skill was positively associated with all components of social relationships and social capital. Women with high-level cooking skill were 2.27 times (95% CI: 1.77-2.91) more likely to have high levels of neighborhood ties and 1.65 (95% CI: 1.20-2.27) times more likely to eat with friends, compared with those with middle/low-level cooking skill. Cooking skills explained 26.2% of the gender difference in social relationships. Improving cooking skills may be key to boosting social relationships and social capital, which would prevent social isolation.

Citing Articles

Community resilience through partnership after the Great East Japan Earthquake: cooking classes by Iwate Co-op and a food company.

Ito N, Konno K, Nozaki K, Fukushi K, Kanno K, Kawamura H Front Public Health. 2024; 12:1414480.

PMID: 39148649 PMC: 11324445. DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1414480.

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