Cooking Methods and Their Relationship with Anthropometrics and Cardiovascular Risk Factors among Older Spanish Adults

Food consumption has a prominent role in the occurrence of cardiometabolic diseases, however, little is known about the specific influence of cooking methods. This study examined the association between cooking methods and anthropometrics, cardiovascular risk factors, and cardiac damage biomarkers in older adults. Data were taken from 2476 individuals aged ≥65 from the Seniors-ENRICA 2 cohort in Spain and recruited between 2015 and 2017. Eight cooking methods (raw, boiling, roasting, pan-frying, frying, toasting, sautéing, and stewing) were assessed using a face-to-face validated dietary history. Study associations were summarized as adjusted percentage differences (PDs) in anthropometrics, cardiovascular risk factors, and cardiac damage biomarkers between extreme sex-specific quintiles ((5th − 1st/1st) × 100) of food consumed with each cooking method, estimated using marginal effects from generalized linear models. After adjusting for potential confounders, including diet quality, PDs corresponding to raw food consumption were −13.4% (p-trend: <0.001) for weight, −12.9% (p-trend: <0.001) for body mass index (BMI), −14.8% (p-trend: <0.001) for triglycerides, and −13.6% (p-trend: <0.115) for insulin. PDs for boiled food consumption were −13.3% (p-trend: <0.001) for weight, −10.0% (p-trend: <0.001) for BMI, and −20.5% (p-trend: <0.001) for insulin. PDs for roasted food consumption were −11.1 (p-trend: <0.001) for weight and −23.3% (p-trend: <0.001) for insulin. PDs for pan-fried food consumption were −18.7% (p-trend: <0.019) for insulin, −15.3% (p-trend: <0.094) for pro-B-type natriuretic peptide amino-terminal, and −10.9% (p-trend: <0.295) for troponin T. No relevant differences were observed for blood pressure nor for other cooking methods. Raw food consumption along with boiling, roasting, and pan-frying were associated with healthier cardiovascular profiles, mainly due to lower weight and insulin levels. Future experimental research should test the effectiveness of these cooking methods for cardiovascular prevention in older adults.