Recipes for Health: A Community-Based Nutrition and Culinary Intervention

Background: Obesity is a major public health concern in the United States, especially since it has been associated with an increased incidence of multiple co-morbidities. Positive eating behavior modifications learned through nutrition education sessions are the main interventions proposed to target overweight and obesity. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine if nutrition education and hands-on cooking classes will result in improvement in eating habits and cooking skills to manage chronic disease. Methods: A convenience sample of 21 participants were recruited from primary health clinics in Miami -Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. A total of eight weekly virtual lessons were conducted, which included both a culinary and a nutrition education portion. At baseline and post-intervention, participants filled out a validated questionnaire with questions related to nutrition knowledge and behavior, fruit and vegetable consumption, and cooking skills. Weight was self-reported. Statistical analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 27.0 (Released 2020; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States) and included descriptive statistics and a paired t-test to compare pre-and post-intervention data.Results: Throughout the eight weeks, subject attendance ranged from 61-95%. Nineteen participants completed the post-intervention questionnaire. Results showed a statistically significant mean weight loss of 3.74 +/- 5.26 lbs (p=0.006) and a statistically significant mean BMI change of-0.66 +/- 0.86 (p=0.004) at post -intervention compared to baseline. In addition, subjects reported increased confidence in dietary habits and culinary skills post-intervention.Conclusion: Our results show exciting data in support of this project's objectives that a healthy cooking intervention can increase nutrition knowledge, increase confidence in healthy food choices, increase confidence in food preparation skills, and improve weight and BMI in participants.