Kids Cooking@Home A smartphone-based cooking intervention to improve eating behaviour in 7- to 9-year-olds

Introduction

Although parents play an important role in developing their children's eating habits, most interventions on children's eating behavior are carried out in schools. What know from these interventions is that involving children in activities such as gardening and meal preparation helps to increase children's fruit and vegetable consumption. This is therefore also a promising strategy for interventions in the home setting.

Methods

In this project, a web application which provides access to child-friendly recipes was developed and tested in the home environment. This web app was piloted so that it can be improved and used in future projects if the program proves effective. In the intervention group, children received a recipe every week. In the control group, it was the parents who prepared the meals for their child using the same recipes. We evaluated the intake and liking of Brussel sprouts and whole wheat pasta at the beginning and the end of the study.

Results

Of 24 parents who completed the recruitment questionnaire, 18 parents and their children completed the intervention phase. The mean consumption of Brussels sprouts and whole wheat pasta in children at baseline was 19.0 ± 24.2 g and 86.0 ± 69.7 g per meal, respectively. No significant differences in intake were found after the intervention or between the intervention and control groups. More children in the intervention group reported finding the whole wheat pasta neutral or positive than in the control group. No change was found in the liking of Brussels sprouts. 

In regard to the web app, participants reported that the illustrations were easy to understand and that they appreciated the support provided by the app. The children enjoyed cooking and the whole family appreciated making time to cook together and viewed it as quality time. The children expressed their pride in participating in the study to friends and family. In addition, even parents in the control group noticed a positive effect on their children's eating behavior. Families were more open to trying the new foods, which had a positive effect on mealtimes.

The children found the study time long and missed their usual dishes, while the younger siblings would have liked to participate in the preparation as well. Parents reported that it was sometimes challenging to cook with the child, as it required organization and motivation, and that it was more difficult to motivate the child to cook the Brussels sprout recipes, which were not so popular with the children. 

Conclusion

The aim of the study was to test the feasibility and impact of an innovative pilot web app for a cooking program in the home environment. The results showed no significant differences between the intervention groups or at different intervention times. However, a slight increase in the preference for the originally unpopular whole wheat pasta was observed after the children were involved in its preparation.

This pilot study can serve as a basis for future studies with larger samples that focus on improving children's dietary behavior using digital tools. Innovative technologies can play a key role in promoting better dietary behavior, saving parents time and encouraging families to cook and eat healthier meals. 

Publication

Joyce Haddad, Maria F. Vasiloglou, Franziska Scheidegger-Balmer, Ulrich Fiedler, Klazine van der Horst. Home-based cooking intervention with a smartphone app to improve eating behaviors in children aged 7–9 years: a feasibility study. Discov Soc Sci Health. 2023; 3(1): 13. doi: 10.1007/s44155-023-00042-4