Abstract
Objective
To compare effects of the Cooking With Kids (CWK) cooking and tasting curriculum (CWK-CT) with a less-intense, tasting-only curriculum (CWK-T) and to conduct a non-treatment comparison on fourth graders' cooking self-efficacy
(SE), cooking attitudes (AT), and fruit and vegetable preferences (FVP).
Design
Pre–post, quasi-experimental, 2 cohorts.
Setting
Eleven low-income public schools in a Southwestern city.
Participants
Fourth-grade students, 50% female and 84% Hispanic.
Interventions
School-based experiential nutrition education program of 5 2-hour cooking and/or 5 1-hour
fruit and vegetable tasting lessons throughout the school year.
Main Outcome Measures
Cooking self-efficacy, AT, and FVP were assessed with 3 tested, validated scales administered
in a 37-item survey pre- and post-classroom intervention.
Analysis
General linear modeling with gender and prior cooking experience were fixed factors.
Results
Among 961 students, CWK positively affected FVP, especially in CWK-CT students and males (P = .045 and .033, respectively); vegetable preference drove this outcome. Independent
of treatment, students without cooking experience (61% male) had more than twice the
gains in cooking self-efficacy (P = .004) and an improved AT response (P = .003).
Conclusions and Implications
Cooking With Kids increased FVP, especially with vegetables. Greatest gains in preferences and self-efficacy
were seen in boys without prior cooking experience. For fourth graders, experiential
nutrition education improved cognitive behaviors that may mediate healthful food choices.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 21, 2013
Identification
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© 2014 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
