April 7-9, 2022 • Hyatt Regency • Lexington, KY
Communication Strategies to Promote Comprehensive Well-being
Communication Strategies to Promote Comprehensive Well-being
Abstract: Chop & Season: In-Person and On-Line Communication to Improve Cooking Self-Efficacy and Fruit & Vegetable Intake in Young Adults
Background: Obesity is a significant risk factor for chronic diseases and various cancer diagnoses (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). Healthy diets, particularly those high in fruit and vegetables, can help adults maintain a healthy weight. Because many college students are newly independent and responsible for making their own dietary choices, often for the first time in their lives, young adulthood presents a critical time for establishing healthy eating habits (Stok, et al., 2018). The current COVID pandemic has also prompted more young adults to attempt cooking at home rather than consume food out-of-home (Sloan, 2020). Study Introduction: Nutrition communication grounded in the social cognitive theory (SCT) is particularly effective in changing dietary behavior (McMullen et al., 2017). The inclusion of the SCT concepts, such as self-efficacy for cooking skills, have been identified as essential components for maximizing outcomes for college students and improving diets (Warmin, et al., 2012). The challenge of hands-on cooking programs, however, is that they require a workable kitchen. In this session, we will present a study that examines a healthy cooking program designed for college students that tested two types of communication (in-person vs. digital) for the development of cooking skills using a pre-post quasi-experimental design. Both communication methods were tested for their effects on cooking attitudes, fruit and vegetable consumption, and self-efficacy for specific skills related to cooking, such as the use of seasonings and knife skills. Method: In spring 2018, N=138 university students participated in the study. Participants were permitted to sign up for either in-person (n = 77) or on-line digital communication (n = 61). For those who participated digitally, video communication was created that mirrored in-person communication. Specifically, the videos focused on and modeled important nutrition-related skills such as knife skills, basic quick healthy cooking techniques (e.g., stir-frying, sautéing, steaming, baking and roasting), recipe adaptation to incorporate additional vegetables, practices to reduce saturated fat and sodium but increase fiber, and methods for integrating herbs and spices into recipes. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to determine differences in on-line versus in-person communication from pre to post-test. Findings: No statistical difference was found between the in-person and on-line communication conditions across the three main outcomes (cooking attitudes, self-efficacy, and fruit and vegetable consumption). A main effect for time, however, was present for the other outcome measures, with participants in both conditions showing significant improvement over time (p less than .005) for: self-efficacy for cooking, self-efficacy for produce consumption, and self-efficacy related to the use of fruits, vegetables, and seasonings for cooking, daily fruit consumption, and daily vegetable consumption. This session will present the SCT elements employed through the program and explore the implications of the study’s findings, particularly the finding that virtual communication was as effective as in-person communication in positively affecting cooking confidence and improving dietary habits among college students. This session may be of particular interest to public health communicators and community-based nutrition educators during the current COVID-19 pandemic as in-person communication and interactions continue to be limited.