Children's Afterschool Culinary Education Improves Eating Behaviors

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Education
• Childhood Obesity Prevention
• Community Health

Background:

• Childhood eating behaviors are influenced by various factors, including socioeconomic status and cultural background.
• Targeted interventions are needed to promote healthy eating habits in underserved communities.
• Culinary education offers a practical approach to improving dietary choices among children.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a 12-module, afterschool culinary education program.
• To assess the program's impact on healthy eating behaviors, knowledge, and culinary skills.
• To examine program outcomes in a predominantly Hispanic/Latino, low-socioeconomic community.

Main Methods:

• Formative evaluation of a registered dietitian-led, hands-on afterschool program.
• Pre- and post-assessment surveys administered to 180 child participants (mean age 9.8 years).
• Analysis of changes in self-reported fruit, vegetable, and whole-grain consumption, knowledge, and culinary skills using mixed effects models.

Main Results:

• High program satisfaction (95.5% liked the program).
• Significant improvements in whole-grain consumption (medium effect size) and vegetable intake (small effect size).
• Substantial increases in culinary skills (15.1–43.4 percentage points) with medium to large effect sizes.

Conclusions:

• The afterschool culinary education program was well-received and effective.
• Participants demonstrated improved eating behaviors and enhanced culinary skills.
• This program shows promise for improving healthy eating in Hispanic/Latino children from low-socioeconomic backgrounds.