“If your parents’ eating habits change, pay attention”: Five dementia warning signs at the table

Changes in eating habits and behavior at the table may offer early clues to dementia, according to advice from specialists cited by HuffPost.

The first sign highlighted was simplifying meal preparation. Joel Salinas, a neurology professor at NYU Langone Health, said, “Someone who has cooked complicated dishes for decades may gradually simplify their cooking and eventually stop altogether.” Cooking requires complex cognitive abilities, which can decline early as dementia progresses.

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Someone who has cooked complicated dishes for decades may gradually simplify their cooking and eventually stop altogether.

Another warning sign is losing interest in food. Majid Fotuhi, an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, said brain changes associated with dementia can cause loss of smell, reducing the taste and pleasure of eating. Continuing a conversation during a meal may also become stressful for someone with dementia, while depression, which often accompanies the condition, can reduce appetite.

The article presents changes at the dining table as potential signs that families should notice, rather than as a standalone diagnosis.

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Brain changes associated with dementia can cause loss of smell, reducing the taste and pleasure of eating.