DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional study conducted between August 2008 and August 2009 using three methods: interviews, focus group discussions and analyses of government reports.

SETTING: The study was conducted in rural and urban areas in Manila and Calabanga (Philippines), Selangor and Kuala Selangor (Malaysia), and Padang, Pariaman Tanah Datar and Limapuluh Kota (West Sumatra, Indonesia).

SUBJECTS: Adults aged 18 to 77 years.

RESULTS: The results showed that Filipinos, Malaysians and Indonesians have retained many aspects of their traditional diets. In fact, most participants in the study considered Western-style and franchise fast foods as snack or recreational foods to be consumed once in a while only. However, a significant difference was noted between urban and rural areas in food varieties consumed. Participants in urban areas consumed more varieties of traditional foods owing to their availability and the participants’ food purchasing power. Although traditional food patterns were maintained by most of the participants, more sugar and vegetable oils were consumed and added to the traditional recipes.

METHODOLOGY: This study involved 194 older adults with probable sarcopenia and sarcopenia aged 60 years and above. Sarcopenia was assessed using the Asian Working Group of Sarcopenia (AWGS) 2019. Among the parameters investigated in this study were sociodemographic, medical history, anthropometry, body composition, physical fitness, subjective cognitive decline, depressive symptoms, cognitive function and functional status. Dementia risk was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) tool. Adjusted binary logistic regression was employed to identify the factors associated with dementia among probable sarcopenia and sarcopenia older adults.

RESULTS: Probable sarcopenia subjects with dementia were older (68.5(7.8) years old) as compared to those without dementia (66.0(6.0) years old). Among the probable sarcopenia, 66.1% of the subjects with dementia had hypertension, while 64.3% of the sarcopenia subjects had hypertension. Fat mass was significantly higher among dementia subjects with probable sarcopenia (33.0(6.5) %) as compared to non-dementia subjects (30.4(6.8) %). Multivariate analysis revealed that hypertension (OR: 4.049; 95% CI: 1.510; 10.855, p = 0.005) was the only factor associated with dementia risk among older adults with probable sarcopenia and sarcopenia.