Changes in Eating Behaviors and Confidence Towards Cooking After an 8-Week Online Cooking and Nutrition Tutorials in Adults Living with an Overweight Condition or Obesity

Abstract

Abstract Objectives This study tested the impact of online cooking and nutrition tutorials on eating behaviours and psychosocial determinants of cooking skills among adults living with an overweight condition or obesity. Methods Healthy adults 18–65 y living with an overweight condition or obesity (25 < body mass index [BMI] < 40 kg/m2) living in the greater Montreal (Quebec) Canada were randomized (1:1:1) to one of three groups: Control [Ctrl; weekly delivery of food with paper-based recipes], Nutrition [weekly delivery of food, access to online cooking and nutrition tutorials] or Behaviour [weekly delivery of food, access to online cooking and eating behaviour tutorials] over 8 weeks. Cooking and education videos were <4 min long total and were viewed through private YouTube links. At baseline and 8 weeks, anthropometrics and sociodemographic were surveyed, as were appetitive traits (i.e., Food Responsiveness, Hunger, Emotional Overeating, Enjoyment of Food, Satiety Responsiveness, Food Fussiness, Emotional Undereating and Slowness in Eating) using the Adult Eating Behavior Questionnaire [AEBQ]. Cooking barriers and confidence towards cooking, confidence in consuming fruits and vegetables and self-efficacy were also assessed. Mixed model ANOVAs were used to test for differences among groups over time. Results At baseline, forty-eight participants with a mean age of 34.0 ± 12.9 y and BMI of 30.2 ± 4.5 kg/m2 were enrolled. Significant differences were seen in the Slowness in Eating subscale between Behaviour (1.64 ± 0.98) and Ctrl (2.46 ± 0.88) (P < 0.02). At 8 weeks, Emotional Overeating scores significantly decreased in both Nutrition and Behaviour compared to Ctrl (P = 0.03). Other AEBQ subscales did not vary by time or group. From baseline to 8 weeks, all groups significantly increased scores for confidence towards cooking (P < 0.001), confidence in consuming of fruits and vegetables (P < 0.001) and general self-efficacy (P < 0.001). Conclusions The weekly provision of food baskets with online cooking and nutrition tutorials elicited changes in eating behaviours in adults living with an overweight condition and obesity. Future studies including a long-term follow-up and larger sample size are needed to confirm these positive findings. Funding Sources R. Howard Webster Foundation.