Promotion of Functional Foods in a School Context: Evaluation of Food Education Sessions Involving Cooking Skills

Abstract

ABSTRACT Food education through cooking programs have been identified to promote healthy eating among individuals, especially among the youngest. It was intended to evaluate the impact of a set of food education sessions in students of the 3rd cycle of basic education (from the 7th to the 9th grade) to promote the consumption of functional foods and improve their cooking skills. A pre- and post-session questionnaire and a global assessment of the sessions were applied. Twenty-three students aged between 13 and 14 participated in the activity, mostly male (60.9%). About 95% of the students had a normal weight and 4.8% were overweight. There was an improvement in the cooking skills of the students, especially in their confidence in making sauces and soup. About 70% of students are very/very willing to increase the frequency of meals prepared by themselves and consider it important to introduce themes related to functional foods in the syllabus in the 3rd cycle of basic education.