Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-8-2024
Abstract
In the current study we evaluated an afterschool nutrition education programme, called Vetri Cooking Lab (VCL), for promoting healthy and diverse eating habits among at-risk children in the Greater Philadelphia area. To understand potential programme impacts, we conducted a longitudinal analysis of survey data collected before and after participation in VCL. Main study included cooking confidence, cooking knowledge, changes in dietary consumption behaviours, and changes in vegetable preferences. Participants included students in grades 3-11 enrolled in VCL during the 2018-19 school year at VCL sites (n = 60) throughout Philadelphia, PA, and Camden, NJ. Eligible participants completed surveys both before and after participating in the programme. We found that students' confidence and knowledge increased (P < 0.001) after the cooking intervention. Knowledge and confidence were positively associated (r = 0.55; P < 0.001). Confidence was correlated with consumption behaviour changes (r = 0.18; P = 0.022). Confidence was positively associated with consumption changes in both our adjusted (OR = 1.81; P < 0.001) and unadjusted models (aOR = 1.88; P = 0.013). Compared to Black students, White students were more likely to report consumption changes (aOR = 5.83; P = 0.013). Hispanic/Latino participants and participants who spoke Spanish had nearly three times higher odds of consumption behaviour changes (Hispanic/Latino OR = 2.55; P = 0.007; Spanish OR = 3.04; P = 0.005). Student age and gender were not associated with behaviour changes. Our research demonstrates that programmes integrating practical cooking skills education along with nutrition, food, and cooking education can improve confidence and knowledge about healthy food choices amongst children driving an overall improvement in children’s eating habits.
Recommended Citation
Kearney, Matthew D.; Maheu, Arlene R.; Booth, Madalyn; Newberg, Andrew B.; Cronholm, Peter F.; and Ayubcha, Soussan, "Promoting Healthful and Diverse Eating Behaviours through an Extracurricular Culinary Skills Intervention in Philadelphia" (2024). SKMC Student Presentations and Publications. Paper 25.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/skmcstudentworks/25
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Language
English
Comments
This article is the author's final published version in Journal of Nutritional Science, Volume 13, October 2024, Article number e57.
The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1017/jns.2024.31.
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024.