Cooking Skills and Associated Variables in Public University Students from Northeast Brazil.

Cooking skills refer to the confidence, attitude, and application of knowledge to perform culinary preparations. This study aimed to characterize the cooking skills and associated variables in undergraduates from public universities in northeast Brazil. This was a cross-sectional study, with data collected between October 2020 and March 2021. Undergraduates (n = 1203) from two federal institutions participated, the Federal University of Alagoas-UFAL, and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte-UFRN, in northeast Brazil. The Brazilian Questionnaire for the Assessment of Cooking Skills and Healthy Eating was used to assess cooking skills. The questionnaire was sent to institutional e-mails and answered online. Most students (63.6%) presented high cooking skills, 35.6% intermediate cooking skills, and 0.8% low cooking skills. Logistic regressions showed that students who declared not having learned to cook alone/internet/books/TV programs (AOR = 1.60; 95% CI = 1.175-2.17) were more likely to have low/intermediate cooking skills. The high availability and accessibility of fruits and vegetables (AOR = 0.29; 95% CI = 0.18-0.49) and the high knowledge of cooking terms and techniques were inversely associated with low/intermediate cooking skills (AOR = 0.42; 95% CI = 0.32-0.56). Gender, age, and time available for cooking were not associated with cooking skills. Most of the students analyzed presented high cooking skills, and factors such as the way they learned how to cook, the availability and accessibility of fruits and vegetables, and cooking knowledge were associated with their cooking skills. Given this, public policy measures aimed at the university students studied should provide instruction on food preparation, foster culinary knowledge, and encourage and favor the availability and accessibility of fruits and vegetables, positively impacting diet quality and health.