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Home Cooking and Child Obesity in Japan: Results from the A-CHILD Study

Yukako Tani1, Takeo Fujiwara1, Satomi Doi1

  • 1Department of Global Health Promotion, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), 1-5-45, Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8519, Japan.

Nutrients
|November 27, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Low frequency of home cooking is linked to childhood obesity in Japan. This association may be explained by unhealthy eating behaviors, highlighting the importance of promoting home cooking for children's health.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Nutrition
  • Public Health
  • Obesity Research

Background:

  • Childhood obesity is a significant public health concern globally.
  • Dietary habits, including home cooking frequency, play a crucial role in child weight management.
  • Understanding factors associated with childhood obesity in diverse populations is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between home cooking frequency and obesity in Japanese children.
  • To explore potential mediating roles of eating behaviors in this association.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional study using data from 4258 fourth-grade students (9-10 years old) in Adachi City, Tokyo, Japan.
  • Home cooking frequency assessed via caregiver questionnaires (high, medium, low).
  • Obesity determined by body mass index z-scores from school health checkups, with adjustments for confounding factors.

Main Results:

  • Children with low home cooking frequency (≤3 days/week) showed a 2.27 times higher likelihood of obesity compared to those with high frequency (almost every day).
  • After accounting for eating behaviors (vegetable intake, breakfast frequency, snacking), the association between low home cooking and obesity became non-significant (RR=1.90).
  • This suggests that unhealthy eating patterns may mediate the link between reduced home cooking and childhood obesity.

Conclusions:

  • A low frequency of home cooking is associated with increased obesity risk in Japanese children.
  • Unhealthy eating behaviors appear to be a key factor explaining this association.
  • Promoting home cooking may be a strategy to improve children's dietary habits and reduce obesity prevalence.

Keywords:
childrenhome cookingmeal preparationobesityparenting

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