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. 2023;3(1):13.
doi: 10.1007/s44155-023-00042-4. Epub 2023 Jun 1.

Home-based cooking intervention with a smartphone app to improve eating behaviors in children aged 7-9 years: a feasibility study

Joyce Haddad  1 , Maria F Vasiloglou  2 , Franziska Scheidegger-Balmer  1 , Ulrich Fiedler  3 , Klazine van der Horst  1
Affiliations

Home-based cooking intervention with a smartphone app to improve eating behaviors in children aged 7-9 years: a feasibility study

Joyce Haddad et al. Discov Soc Sci Health. 2023.

Abstract

Objective: To develop and evaluate the feasibility of a mobile application in Swiss households and assess its impact on dietary behavior and food acceptability between children who cooked with limited parental support (intervention group) with children who were not involved in cooking (control group).

Methods: A ten-week randomized controlled trial was conducted online in 2020. Parents were given access to a mobile-app with ten recipes. Each recipe emphasized one of two generally disliked foods (Brussels sprouts or whole-meal pasta). Parents photographed and weighed the food components from the child's plate and reported whether their child liked the meal and target food. The main outcome measures were target food intake and acceptability analyzed through descriptive analysis for pre-post changes.

Results: Of 24 parents who completed the baseline questionnaires, 18 parents and their children (median age: 8 years) completed the evaluation phase. Mean child baseline Brussel sprouts and whole-meal pasta intakes were 19.0 ± 24.2 g and 86.0 ± 69.7 g per meal, respectively. No meaningful differences in intake were found post-intervention or between groups. More children reported a neutral or positive liking towards the whole-meal pasta in the intervention group compared to those in the control group. No change was found for liking of Brussel sprouts.

Conclusions for practice: The intervention was found to be feasible however more studies on larger samples are needed to validate feasibility. Integrating digital interventions in the home and promoting meal preparation may improve child reported acceptance of some healthy foods. Using such technology may save time for parents and engage families in consuming healthier meals.

Keywords: Children; Cooking; Food acceptance; Food intake; Liking; Meal preparation; Vegetable intake.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interestsNo conflicts of interest or competing interests apply.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Sample screenshots of the Kids Cooking@Home app, depicting the list of required ingredients, the preparation process, and the evaluation of liking of the meal with a short survey
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Graphical overview of the 10-weed randomized study
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Flowchart of the study participation and reasons for non-completion. WM: whole-meal
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Percentage (n) of participants who reported negative, neutral or positive liking towards Brussels sprouts, by intervention and control group at baseline and evaluation. Data shown for all participants who provided the responses
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Percentage (n) of participants who reported negative, neutral or positive liking towards whole-meal pasta, by intervention and control group at baseline and evaluation. Data shown for all participants who provided the responses
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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