Child diet and health outcomes of the simple suppers program: a 10-week, 2-group quasi-experimental family meals trial.

BACKGROUND: Racial minority children, particularly from low-income households, are at risk for obesity. Family meals have a protective effect on child nutritional health. However, the current evidence is limited in racial and socioeconomic diversity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of a family meals intervention, Simple Suppers, on improvements in diet and health outcomes from baseline (T0) to post-intervention (T1) in intervention compared to waitlist control participants, and determine retention of change in outcomes among intervention participants at 10-week follow-up (T2). METHODS: Simple Suppers was a 10-week family meals intervention implemented as a 2-group quasi-experimental trial. Ten 90-min lessons were delivered weekly. Data were collected at T0 and T1, and from intervention participants at T2. Participants were racially diverse 4-10 year-old children from low-income households. Setting was a faith-based community center. Main outcomes were daily servings of fruit, vegetables, and sugar-sweetened beverages and diet quality; z-scores for body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP); weight status categories; food preparation skills; and family meals (frequency of dinner, breakfast, TV viewing during meals, meals in dining area). Generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) and mixed-effects ordinal regression models were used to assess intervention impact (T0:T1). Paired t-tests examined retention of change among intervention participants (T1:T2). RESULTS: One hundred forty children enrolled and 126 completed T1 (90% retention); 71 of 87 intervention participants completed T2(79% retention). Mean (SD) age was 6.9(1.9) yr, 62% female, 60% Black, and 42% low-income. Intervention vs waitlist controls had higher food preparation skills (p < 0.001) and lower TV viewing during meals (p = 0.04) at T1.There were no group differences in dietary intake or quality or z-scores for BMI, waist circumference, or BP, however intervention versus waitlist controls experienced a greater change toward healthy weight (p = 0.04) At T2, intervention participants demonstrated a retention of improved food preparation skills. CONCLUSIONS: Simple Suppers led to improvements in children's weight status, food preparation skills, and TV viewing during meals, but not diet or z-scores for BMI, waist circumference, or BP. Future research should examine the preventive effects of healthy family mealtime routines in children at greatest risk for obesity. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02923050; Simple Suppers Scale-up (S3); Retrospectively registered on Oct 2016; First participant enrolled on Jan 2015.

Do cooking and food preparation skills affect healthy eating in college students?

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between food and cooking skills and healthy eating attitudes in college students. The demographic characteristics, anthropometric measurements, nutritional habits, attitudes toward healthy eating, and cooking and food preparation skills were questioned. 16.2% of the students have moderate, 63.5% high, and 20.3% ideally high attitudes toward healthy eating. While a positive and significant correlation was found between the total score and sub-factor scores of the "Cooking Skills and Food Skills" scale and the total score of the "Attitude Scale for Healthy Nutrition"; a negative statistically significant correlation was found between the total score and sub-factor scores of the "Cooking Skills and Food Skills" scale and the frequency of consumption of fast-food, processed meat products, packaged foods, and bread types (p < .05). Cooking and food preparation skills seem to be positively associated with healthy attitudes and habits. Considering this positive association, interventions to improve food and cooking skills may help promote healthy eating attitudes in college students. Developing these skills can shed light on increasing the frequency of cooking at home, consuming healthier foods, and as a result, providing a healthy eating attitude. Therefore, more comprehensive intervention studies are needed in this area.