A community-based cooking programme "Eat Better Feel Better" can improve child and family eating behaviours in low socioeconomic groups

Background: The immediate and sustained impacts of the Eat Better Feel Better cooking programme (EBFBCP) on food choices and eating behaviours in families and children were evaluated. Methods: The EBFBCP (6 weeks, 2 hours/week) was delivered by community-based organisations in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Scotland. Before, after and at follow-up, parents/caregivers completed short pictorial questionnaires to report family/child eating behaviours and food literacy. Results: In total, 83 EBFBCPs were delivered and 516 participants enrolled, of which 432 were parents and caregivers. Questionnaire completion rates were 57% (n=250) for before and after and 13% (n=58) for follow-up. Most participants (80%) were female, 25–44 years old (51%) and considered socioeconomically deprived (80%). The immediate effects of the EBFBCP on eating behaviours and food literacy were families ate less takeaway/fast foods (10% reduction, p=0.019) and ready meals (15% reduction, p=0.003) and cooked more from scratch (20% increase, p<0.001). Children’s consumption of discretionary food/drinks was significantly reduced after the EBFBCP for sugary drinks (10% reduction, p=0.012), savoury snacks (18%, p=0.012), biscuits (17%, p=0.007), sweets/chocolates (23%, p=0.002), fried/roasted potatoes (17%, p<0.001) and savoury pastries (11%, p<0.001). The number of fruit (15%, p=0.008) and vegetable portions (10%, p<0.001) increased, while the number of biscuit portions decreased (13%, p=0.005). Parental food label reading increased (calories, 22%; fat, 23%; sugar, 22%; ingredients, 19%; and portion size, 19%). Most changes were sustained at a median of 10 months’ follow-up. Conclusion: The EBFBCP improved children’s and families’ food choices and behaviours. The EBFBCP can be recommended to support families to make better food choices

A community-based cooking programme “Eat Better Feel Better” can improve child and family eating behaviours in low socioeconomic groups

The data is quantitative. The purpose was to evaluate the "Eat Better Feel Better" cooking programme. The programme was developed and funded by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Public Health (2016-2017). The data will open using IBM SPSS Statistics 24 software. The SPSS file contains two views, one showing all raw data from 516 participants, the second view is the list of all variables with corresponding labels (definitions). The data is from participants answers to the questionnaire used for the evaluation of the programme. The questionnaire is also included in the repository

Evaluation of the “Eat Better Feel Better” Cooking Programme to Tackle Barriers to Healthy Eating

We evaluated a 6-week community-based cooking programme, “Eat Better Feel Better”, aimed at tackling barriers to cooking and healthy eating using a single-group repeated measures design. 117 participants enrolled, 62 completed baseline and post-intervention questionnaires, and 17 completed these and a 3–4 months follow-up questionnaire. Most participants were female, >45 years, and socioeconomically deprived. Confidence constructs changed positively from baseline to post-intervention (medians, scale 1 “not confident” to 7 “very confident”): “cooking using raw ingredients” (4, 6 p < 0.003), “following simple recipe” (5, 6 p = 0.003), “planning meals before shopping” (4, 5 p = <0.001), “shopping on a budget (4, 5 p = 0.044), “shopping healthier food” (4, 5 p = 0.007), “cooking new foods” (3, 5 p < 0.001), “cooking healthier foods” (4, 5 p = 0.001), “storing foods safely” (5, 6 p = 0.002); “using leftovers” (4, 5 p = 0.002), “cooking raw chicken” (5, 6 p = 0.021), and “reading food labels” (4, 5 p < 0.001). “Microwaving ready-meals” decreased 46% to 39% (p = 0.132). “Preparing meals from scratch” increased 48% to 59% (p = 0.071). Knowledge about correct portion sizes increased 47% to 74% (p = 0.002). Spending on ready-meals/week decreased. Follow-up telephone interviewees (n = 42) reported developing healthier eating patterns, spending less money/wasting less food, and preparing more meals/snacks from raw ingredients. The programme had positive effects on participants’ cooking skills confidence, helped manage time, and reduced barriers of cost, waste, and knowledge.

How Effective is the “Eat Better Feel Better” Community‐based Cooking Intervention at Tackling Barriers of Time, Cost, Waste and Knowledge of Healthy Eating in Glasgow, Scotland?

Barriers of time, cost, waste and knowledge hinder cooking practice which is linked to poor diets. We aimed to evaluate the short and mid‐term effectiveness of a community‐based cooking intervention developed by the National Health Service (NHS) in Greater Glasgow and Clyde (GGC), Scotland in tackling the barriers of time, cost, waste and knowledge of healthy eating. We used a single‐group repeated measures design. A 6‐week, 2 hour per week cooking intervention was delivered in community‐based facilities in four health and social care partnership localities in NHS GGC. All participants who enrolled in this intervention were asked to complete questionnaires at baseline and post‐intervention, a follow‐up evaluation was conducted after 3–4 months via postal questionnaires. Of the 117 participants who enrolled, 62 completed baseline and post‐intervention questionnaires and 17 completed questionnaires at all three time‐points. The majority (65%) were female, over 45 years old, of Scottish descent, and were considered socioeconomically deprived. Confidence constructs related to cooking skills were assessed with a scale between 1 (not confident) and 7 (very confident), and are reported as medians for baseline, post‐intervention and follow‐up (p for changes from baseline to follow‐up). For the participants who completed all three questionnaires, a positive and significant change in 10 out of 12 confidence constructs was seen. These were as follows: “following a simple recipe (5, 6, 7; p=0.038), “planning meals before shopping” (4, 6, 5; p=0.030), “shopping on a budget (4, 5, 6; p=0.037), “shopping for healthier food” (4, 5, 5; p=0.008), “cooking new foods” (2, 5, 4; p=0.002, “cooking healthier foods” (4, 6, 5; p=0,006), “storing foods safely” (4, 6, 7; p=0.011); “using leftovers for other meals” (3.5, 5, 5; p=0.040), “reading food labels” (3, 5, 6; p=0.001) and “food hygiene” ( 5, 6, 7; p=0.034). Baseline and follow‐up results for cooking practices such as eating ready‐meals changed from 59% to 24% of those who responded “yes” (p=0.034) and throwing away leftovers from a median of 3 (once a week) to 2 (< once a week) (p=0.017). Similarly, frequency in eating healthier choices (e.g. oily fish) increased from 2 (< once a week) to 4 (2–4 times a week) (p=0.039) while knowledge for correct portion sizes increased from 35% to 88% (p=0.004). The median values for self‐reported spending on food per week were identical between the three time points (£40.00, p=0.653). However, the median values for the amount of money spent on takeaway/fast food per week at baseline, post‐intervention and follow‐up was £8.00, £5.00, and £2.00, respectively. In conclusion, despite the limited number of respondents, the results clearly show that the intervention was effective in increasing confidence and reducing the barriers of time, waste and knowledge in the short and mid‐term and has the potential to be embedded as part of public health improvement strategies to improve diet in Scotland