(P02-086-25) Associations of Cooking and Eating Practices With Two-Year Risk of Cardiometabolic Conditions

Objectives: We examined the associations between cooking and eating practices with 2-year risk of cardiometabolic conditions among adults in Puerto Rico, who have high prevalence of these conditions.

Methods: We analyzed baseline and 2-year follow-up data from 284 adults (30-75 y) in the Puerto Rico Observational Study of Psychosocial, Environmental, and Chronic disease Trends (PROSPECT) cohort. Participants self-reported the frequency of cooking and eating practices (eat in the company of friends or family, alone, or while watching television; limit salt, fat, carbohydrates, portions, calories; buy organic foods; eat plant-based; follow diets; or keep diet record) as rarely/never ( < 2 times/wk) vs frequently (≥2 times/wk). Clinical measures and fasting blood samples for cardiometabolic factors were collected. Multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for sociodemographic and behavioral factors, including diet quality, estimated the hazard ratio (HR; 95% CI) of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and MetS dysregulated factors by practice.

Results: Two-year incidence of MetS was 42.0%. Compared with rarely/never, frequently eating alone was associated with a higher risk of MetS (1.58; 1.04, 2.40) and hypertriglyceridemia (2.33; 1.26, 4.29), while eating with friends/family was associated with lower risk of abdominal obesity (0.50; 0.27, 0.92). Limiting salt was inversely associated with MetS (0.43; 0.22, 0.83), abdominal obesity (0.46; 0.28, 0.77), low HDL-c (0.45; 0.22, 0.93), and hyperglycemia (0.35; 0.16, 0.80), and limiting fat was associated with lower abdominal obesity (0.62; 0.41, 0.94). Higher abdominal obesity was observed for those frequently following popular diet/weight loss programs (1.55, 1.06, 2.26) – also associated with hyperglycemia (2.15, 1.05, 4.40) – and keeping a diet record (1.66; 1.01, 2.73).

Conclusions: Healthy eating and social practices such as eating with others instead of alone, limiting salt and fats, may help prevent cardiometabolic conditions in Puerto Rican adults and warrant research in other populations.

Funding Sources: NHLBI (R01-HL143792, K01-HL120951, K01HL169414), NIMHD (MD013650), and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Leaders Award.