Recipes for Health: A Community-Based Nutrition and Culinary Intervention.

BACKGROUND

Obesity is a major public health concern in the United States, especially since it has been associated with an increased incidence of multiple co-morbidities. Positive eating behavior modifications learned through nutrition education sessions are the main interventions proposed to target overweight and obesity.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to determine if nutrition education and hands-on cooking classes will result in improvement in eating habits and cooking skills to manage chronic disease.  Methods: A convenience sample of 21 participants were recruited from primary health clinics in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. A total of eight weekly virtual lessons were conducted, which included both a culinary and a nutrition education portion. At baseline and post-intervention, participants filled out a validated questionnaire with questions related to nutrition knowledge and behavior, fruit and vegetable consumption, and cooking skills. Weight was self-reported. Statistical analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 27.0 (Released 2020; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States) and included descriptive statistics and a paired t-test to compare pre- and post-intervention data.

RESULTS

Throughout the eight weeks, subject attendance ranged from 61-95%. Nineteen participants completed the post-intervention questionnaire. Results showed a statistically significant mean weight loss of 3.74 ±5.26 lbs (p=0.006) and a statistically significant mean BMI change of -0.66 ±0.86 (p=0.004) at post-intervention compared to baseline. In addition, subjects reported increased confidence in dietary habits and culinary skills post-intervention.

CONCLUSION

Our results show exciting data in support of this project's objectives that a healthy cooking intervention can increase nutrition knowledge, increase confidence in healthy food choices, increase confidence in food preparation skills, and improve weight and BMI in participants.