Research ArticleWatching TV Cooking Programs: Effects on Actual Food Intake Among Children
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INTRODUCTION
To date, increasing attention is being paid to establish effective intervention techniques that can modify children's eating behavior toward a positive and beneficial outcome.1 Poor dietary habits during childhood and adolescence have multiple negative effects on several health and wellness indicators, such as achievement and maintenance of healthy weights, growth and development patterns, and dental health.2 Although most people are well aware of the negative consequences of an unhealthy
Study Design
The current study employed a 1-factor experimental between-subject design to test the effects of video clips (ie, cooking program containing healthy foods vs. energy-dense foods) versus a control program on food choice. Randomization took place on the classroom level. Conditions were randomized over classes within participating schools to avoid having more than 1 class of a particular school in the same condition. Food choice was measured by asking participants which food options they would
RESULTS
The distribution of the data was normal, and Levene's test showed no significant differences for the homogeneity of variance. Furthermore, MANOVA showed that there were no differences between conditions on gender, hunger, and liking of the television program (Table 1). However, the mean age differed significantly between conditions (F[2,120] = 10.43; P < .001). Children in the healthy (11.4 ± 0.58) and unhealthy (11.4 ± 0.55) food conditions were older than children in the control condition
DISCUSSION
The current study sought to determine whether children who watched a cooking program during school time with healthy foods would have a higher probability of choosing healthier foods in a subsequent food choice task compared with children who watch a cooking program with unhealthy food or are in the control condition. The main finding was that cooking programs could positively affect healthy food consumption of children.
The results showed that priming children with healthy foods are effective
IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH AND PRACTICE
The current work indicates a need for future research to focus on the effectiveness of cooking programs to affect long-term food choices, as these strategies contain an essential educational component.
Another potential beneficial outcome is the transfer of knowledge around healthy nutrition from a school environment to a home environment through peers and teachers as agents of change. Nevertheless, existing evidence to support a relationship between cooking instructions and long-term cooking
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors thank Radboud University Nijmegen for its support.
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Reanalysis Accounting for Clustering and Nesting Overturns Conclusions in: “Watching TV Cooking Programs: Effects on Actual Food Intake Among Children”
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2023, AppetiteCitation Excerpt :Pictorial priming involves showing something that prepares or encourages individuals to engage in a certain behaviour (Barbosa et al., 2020). For example, highlighting healthy foods in a cooking program can prime people to select a healthier food in a subsequent food choice task (Folkvord et al., 2020). Similarly, placing an image of a certain food (e.g., grapes) on the bottom of a plate can prime the selection and consumption of the depicted food (Sharps et al., 2020).
The differential effects of viewing short-form online culinary videos of fruits and vegetables versus sweet snacks on adolescents’ appetites
2021, AppetiteCitation Excerpt :Overall, there are more significant results that support the effects of the sweet snacks video compared to the fruits and vegetables video. This contradicts recent research on the positive effects of pro-nutrition TV cooking-show content on food choice (Folkvord et al., 2020; Ngqangashe et al., 2018) and earlier research on the effects of viewing healthy food advertisements (Dixon et al., 2007). For instance, the fruits and vegetables video had no effect on food choice behavior, while the sweet snacks video indirectly reduced the odds of choosing a fruit, mediated by intentions to eat sweet snacks.
Indirect Associations Between Commercial Television Exposure and Child Body Mass Index
2021, Journal of Nutrition Education and BehaviorCitation Excerpt :A recent study demonstrated that exposure to cooking programs, for example, affected food choice in 10- to 12-year-old children.46 The impact of exposure to healthy food cues on healthy food selection in that study suggests a promising avenue for TV-based nutrition education.46 Limitations of this work include the cross-sectional nature of the research design.
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Conflict of Interest Disclosure: The authors have not stated any conflicts of interest.