As society ages the ability to do so in as healthy a way as possible is crucial. This is especially so during the current cost of living crisis. A recent study from Penn State reveals that older adults who are living with food insecurity are at a higher risk of malnutrition, depression, and physical limitations, which can adversely impact their way of life.

The largest federally funded nutrition-assistance program in the United States, known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), has been found to reduce hunger and food insecurity in the general population.

However, there is limited research on the effects of SNAP on brain aging in older adults. To address this gap, researchers conducted a study to examine the relationship between food insecurity, SNAP, and cognitive decline. They found that participation in SNAP and having access to sufficient food can help protect against accelerated cognitive decline in older adults.

Healthy aging

The study analyzed a representative sample of 4,578 older adults in the United States, using data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study from 2012-2020. The participants reported their experiences with food insecurity and were categorized as food sufficient or food insufficient. The SNAP status was defined as SNAP participants, SNAP-eligible nonparticipants, and SNAP-ineligible nonparticipants. The researchers discovered that food-insecure adults experienced cognitive declines more rapidly than their food-secure peers.

The researchers identified distinct trajectories of cognitive decline based on food insufficiency status or SNAP status. Rates of cognitive decline were similar in SNAP participants and SNAP-ineligible nonparticipants, and both were slower than the rate of SNAP-eligible nonparticipants. The greater cognitive decline rate observed in the food insecure group was equivalent to being 3.8 years older, whereas the greater cognitive decline rate observed in the SNAP-eligible nonparticipant group was equivalent to being 4.5 years older.

“For an aging population, roughly four years of brain aging can be very significant,” the researchers explain. “These results really point to the importance of food security for people as they age and the value that SNAP can have in improving people’s cognitive health as they age. We need to make sure that people have access to—and encourage them to use—the SNAP program as they age.”