Background: Childhood, adolescent, and adult obesity is a major health and economic concern affecting the United States and various countries across the globe. Obese children and adolescents are at a potential risk for developing certain chronic diseases as they transition into adulthood. There are community-based cooking intervention programs designed to increase children and adolescents' intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, whether these programs improve self-efficacy and perceptions related to food and eating behaviors is not currently known.
Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Teen Cuisine, an Extension-based cooking program on self-efficacy with cooking and perceptions of their eating behaviors in a diverse group of adolescents across the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Subjects: Students involved in the 4-H Teen Cuisine Program during the 2013-2015 academic years. Cooking Program: Teen Cuisine is a six-week 90-minute extension-based cooking program created by the Virginia Family Nutrition Program targeting adolescents and teens throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. The program focused on kitchen safety and sanitation, knife skills, food preparation, and nutrition education.
Measures: A survey was used to assess n=531 student's self-efficacy for general nutrition knowledge, food choices, and cooking skills as a result of the 4-H Teen Cuisine Program during the academic year of fall 2013 to spring 2015.
Methods: Surveys were administered upon completion of the Teen Cuisine program to assess students' self-efficacy and perceived gains in kitchen skills, dietary patterns and preferences, and nutrition knowledge.
Results: Teens that self-reported living in rural areas throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia perceived gains (p < 0.05) in an increased consumption of fruits and vegetables. Teens also indicated an increased frequency in cooking and a decrease in their consumption of soda/soft drinks.
Conclusion: Overall Teen Cuisine was found to be effective in improving perceptions of curriculum specific health behaviors, cooking skills, food safety and sanitation, and perceived gains in self-efficacy in the kitchen. / Master of Science / Over the past 10 years, 4-H has delivered numerous childhood obesity prevention programs across the state of Virginia. 4-H Extension Agents expressed a need and for a curriculum targeting tweens and teens. Based on a national search, no programs existed. As a result, the Virginia Family Nutrition Program developed Teen Cuisine, a skilled and cooking based curriculum that focuses on nutrition education, food preparation and safety. In 2011, the Teen Cuisine program was targeted for low-income youth. The aim of this study was to create a culinary and nutrition education foundation to aid in the prevention of chronic diseases. Once students completed the six 90 minute lesson program, a posttest was distributed to students throughout the state of Virginia who participated in Teen Cuisine. Results were evaluated using the 4-H Common Measures Evaluation Instruments. Based on evidence from Teen Cuisine 72.1% of students agreed they consume more fruits and vegetables. While 73.0% agreed they drink fewer soft drinks. Students who successfully completed Teen Cuisine significantly improved their knowledge in nutrition education, physical activity, food safety and sanitation, acquired knife skills, and are now more conscious of their eating behaviors. Reinforcing the Dietary Guidelines and MyPlate, teens now have a road map to how their plate should look, and how to maintain a healthy weight.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/73705 |
| Date | 15 December 2016 |
| Creators | Petty, Heather Keyronica |
| Contributors | Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, Frisard, Madlyn I., Chase, Melissa W., Ju, Young Hwa |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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