Outcomes of children's cooking programs: a systematic review of intervention studies

Objective: To examine the factors that make such programs successful, this systematic review compared the outcomes of children's participation in cooking interventions based on intervention characteristics. Design: Systematic review of randomized controlled trials of children's participation in cooking interventions published between 1998 and 2022 guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. Setting: All settings Participants: Children and parents. Main Outcome Measures: Cooking skills, food acceptance and dietary behavior. Analysis: Systematic search of 1,104 articles and review of 23 studies (42 articles) meeting inclusion criteria. Results: Interventions varied in participant age, settings, cooking sessions, and program length. Knowledge of cooking skills, self-efficacy, and child cooking involvement were the most frequent positive outcomes; improvements in dietary intake were rarely achieved. Seven studies had a high rating for research quality. Conclusion and Implications for Research and Practice: Lack of standardized assessment, large variability in program characteristics, and insufficient intervention description made it difficult to discern best practices for children's cooking programs. Improvements in intervention development and measurement instruments are needed. Interventions that include hands-on cooking lessons seem promising in improving knowledge and self-efficacy; however, further exploration is required on the factors that make cooking programs successful in the long term.