Improving fruit and vegetable intake on food insecure college students through a cooking and gardening nutrition...

Objective: This study aimed to measure the effect of a Social Cognitive Theory (SCT)-based, urban gardening, cooking, and nutrition education intervention on health behavior mediators and fruit and vegetable intake in food-insecure college students. Methods: In a 6-week, randomized controlled trial, 89 food-insecure students at a southeastern university (86% female, 59% Hispanic), randomized into a controlled 107 (n = 42) or intervention group (n = 47), attended once a week, cooking/gardening sessions, that incorporated nutrition education, recipes, and at home garden materials. Outcome measures were assessed at baseline and post intervention and included anthropometrics, health behavior mediators such as nutrition knowledge (Dickson-Spillmann Consumer Oriented Nutrition Knowledge Survey), Dewar's SCT construct subscales: self-efficacy, outcome expectations, reciprocal determinism, and fruit and vegetable intake using the National Cancer Institute's Fruit and Vegetable Screener. Linear regressions and ANOVA's were conducted. Results: Intervention participants increased fruit and vegetable intake (F = 19.19, p < .001) and health behavior mediators: self-efficacy (F = 17.65, p < .001), reciprocal determinism (F = 4.16, p = .045), An increase in reciprocal determinism was significantly associated with an increase in self-efficacy (β = .392, t = 2.66, p = .011). Intervention mediators did not have a significant effect on change in fruit and vegetable intake (F = . 580, p = .679, R2 = . 061). Conclusions: An SCT-based cooking and gardening nutrition program tailored to food-insecure college students improved health behavior mediators and increased fruit and vegetable intake. A nutrition education program that utilizes a hands-on, interactive approach may be an effective intervention to promote fruit and vegetable intake and health behaviors among food insecure college students.