Abstract
Many college students struggle to cook frequently, which has implications for their diet quality and health. Students’ ability to plan, procure, and prepare food (food agency) may be an important target for shifting the college student diet away from instant and inexpensive staples like packaged ramen. The randomized intervention study included two sequential cooking interventions: (1) six weeks of cooking classes based in food agency pedagogy held once per week, and (2) six weekly home delivered meal kits (3 meals per kit) to improve food agency, diet quality, and at home cooking frequency of college students. Based on availability and subsequent randomization, participants were assigned to one of four conditions that included active cooking classes, meal kit provision, or no intervention. Participants who took part in the cooking intervention had significant improvement in food agency immediately following the intervention period. Participants who did not participate in cooking classes and only received meal kits experienced significant, though less pronounced, improvement in food agency scores following the meal kit provision. Neither intervention improved diet quality or routinely improved cooking frequency. Active cooking classes may improve food agency of college students, though further research is needed to determine how this may translate into improved diet quality and increased cooking frequency.
Highlights
Young adulthood is a critical time for developing independent living behaviors like cooking
The results of the current study suggest that a cooking intervention focused on food agency does increase food agency; future research may be needed to better understand how increases in food agency could translate to both increased frequency of cooking from home for young adults as well as increased diet quality
The findings of this study indicate that a cooking class intervention focused on increasing food agency for young adults may have a positive impact on food agency, but increases in food agency did not translate into increases in dietary quality or the frequency of cooking at home
Summary
Young adulthood is a critical time for developing independent living behaviors like cooking. Despite the importance of being able to cook, Larson et al [1] found that the majority of young adults surveyed did not perform food preparation and purchasing behaviors such as buying fresh vegetables, writing a grocery list, or preparing dinner. Found that home food preparation and meal regularity were the factors most associated with healthy dietary patterns in a sample of college students [2], and Larson et al found that college students who reported that they frequently prepared food at home were more likely to meet fat, calcium, fruit, vegetable, and whole grain dietary goals [1]. Previous research points to the importance of learning cooking skills at an early age.
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