How a 7-week food literacy cooking program affects cooking confidence and mental health: Findings of a quasi-experimental controlled intervention trial

Authors

Joanna Rees, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Shih Ching Fu, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Johnny Lo, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Ros Sambell, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Joshua R. Lewis, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Claus T. Christophersen, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Matthew F. Byrne, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Robert U. Newton, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Siobhan Boyle
Amanda Devine, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Title

Frontiers in Nutrition

Volume

9

Publisher

Frontiers

School

School of Science / Institute for Nutrition Research / School of Medical and Health Sciences / Exercise Medicine Research Institute / School of Education

RAS ID

43948

Comments

Rees, J., Fu, S. C., Lo, J., Sambell, R., Lewis, J. R., Christophersen, C. T., ... & Devine, A. (2022). How a 7-Week Food Literacy Cooking Program Affects Cooking Confidence and Mental Health: Findings of a Quasi-Experimental Controlled Intervention Trial. Frontiers in nutrition, 9, p. 1-15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2022.802940

Abstract

Obesity and mental health disorders are rising simultaneously with shifting dietary behavior away from home cooking, toward typically nutrition-poor and energy-dense convenience meals. Food literacy strongly influences nutrition choices. Community-based cooking interventions target barriers to healthy eating and facilitate development of food literacy skills, thereby potentially increasing preparation of home-cooked meals and positively influencing health. This study of 657 healthy Australian adults explored the efficacy of a 7-week cooking program in improving cooking confidence, whether this transferred to behavior surrounding food, and/or affected mental health. Significant post-program improvements in cooking confidence and satisfaction (all p < 0.001, (Formula presented.) 1.12 large), ability to change eating habits (p < 0.001) and overcome lifestyle barriers (p = 0.005) were observed for the intervention group but not control. Participation also improved mental and general health (all p < 0.05, (Formula presented.) 0.02 small). No changes were observed for acquisition and consumption of food, or nutrition knowledge in either group. This 7-week cooking program built cooking confidence and improved general and mental health but did not change dietary behavior. To further improve nutrition related behaviors associated with better mental health, more effort is needed to recruit those with below-average nutrition knowledge and interest in cooking.

DOI

10.3389/fnut.2022.802940

Related Publications

Rees, J. (2022). Diet quality and mental health: How does improved cooking confidence after a food literacy cooking program affect mental health outcomes and associations with dietary and gut biomarkers of the gut-brain axis?. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2497

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.