Public perceptions of cooking and the implications for cooking behaviour in the USA

Abstract

Objective: Despite the importance of cooking in modern life, public perceptions about what it means to cook are unknown. We aimed to examine perceptions of cooking and their association with cooking confidence, attitudes and behaviours in the USA. Design: We designed and fielded a nationally representative survey among US adults (n 1112) in April 2015. We used factor analysis to identify perceptions about cooking and multivariate ordered logit and Poisson models to explore associations between those perceptions and cooking confidence, attitudes and behaviours. Setting: Nationally representative web-based survey of US adults. Subjects: US adults aged ≥18 years. Results: Americans conceptualized cooking in three ways: the use of scratch ingredients, convenience foods and not using heat. Respondents who perceived cooking as including convenience foods were less confident in their ability to cook from scratch (OR = 0·52, P < 0·001) and less likely to enjoy cooking (OR = 0·68, P = 0·01) than those who did not. Although individuals who perceived cooking as including only scratch ingredients reported cooking dinner (4·31 times/ week) and using packaged/boxed products (0·95 times/week) the least frequently, few notable differences in the frequency of cooking meals were observed. Conclusions: Cooking frequency is similar among US adults regardless of how they perceive cooking, but cooking confidence and enjoyment are lowest among Americans who perceive cooking as including the use of convenience foods. These insights should inform the development of more specific measures of cooking behaviour as well as meaningful and targeted public health messages to encourage healthier cooking.

Youth Chef Academy: Pilot Results From a Plant‐Based Culinary and Nutrition Literacy Program for Sixth and Seventh Graders

“…Use of incentives or other monitoring tools, such as social media, should be researched to improve reporting of these data, as should strategies to increase parent involvement in supporting cooking at home as noted by Fordyce-Voordam. 54 Additionally, while several studies measured confidence and perceived self-efficacy in cooking skills or attitudes toward cooking, [55][56][57][58] no method for measuring actual cooking skills in youth has been validated other than through direct observation, which may be unfeasible depending on sample size and constraints of the classroom setting. Development of such a method would constitute a significant contribution to the literature in this domain due to limitations of using measures of perceived ability as a proxy for actual ability.…”

Food Agency in the United States: Associations with Cooking Behavior and Dietary Intake

“…A web-based survey to measure cooking skills, food skills, food agency, cooking attitudes, perceptions about the meaning of cooking, cooking confidence, cooking behavior, and dietary intake was designed. All cooking-related scales and measures were taken from previously validated surveys [22,24,28]. Because the cooking skills and food skills measures had not been validated in a US sample, we conducted "think aloud" cognitive interviews (n = 10) to ensure they were understood as intended and adjusted any wording for a US audience.…”

“…These scales have expanded the number and types of skills considered important for home cooking and have shown that both cooking and food skills are critical for shaping dietary intake [23]. Other measures of cooking confidence and attitudes as well as how people perceive what it means to cook (related to the role of convenience foods vs. scratch ingredients and whether heat is required for cooking) have also been shown to be important predictors of cooking behavior [24][25][26][27].…”

Food insecurity and food preparation equipment in US households: exploratory results from a cross‐sectional questionnaire

“…The instrument combined previously validated questionnaires of sociodemographic variables , household food security and household food preparation equipment . Human nutrition professionals pilot tested the instrument for comprehension and length, without changes to the text or time for completion.…”

“…Sociodemographic variables included age, sex, ethnicity, highest level of education completed, annual household income, food assistance programmes utilised, household size, marital status and primary food preparer . Self‐reported height (feet, inches) and weight (pounds) were queried, and investigators used height and weight data to calculate the body mass index (BMI; kg m −2 ) of each respondent.…”