SynthesisPreventing chronic disease2014
The impact of cooking classes on food-related preferences, attitudes, and behaviors of school-aged children: a systematic review of the evidence, 2003-2014.
Synthesis in Preventing chronic disease, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 85 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
85 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Experiential Learning Interventions and Healthy Eating Outcomes in Children: A Systematic Literature Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Impact of preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum culinary nutrition education interventions: a systematic review.Nutrition reviews · 2021Pooled it
- A systematic review of parent based programs to prevent or reduce alcohol consumption in adolescents.BMC public health · 2019Pooled it
- The relationship between buildings and health: a systematic review.Journal of public health (Oxford, England) · 2019Pooled it
- Evaluation of the school-based 'PhunkyFoods' intervention: a cluster randomised controlled trial in the UK.Public health nutrition · 2025Trial
- Impact and process evaluation of a primary-school Food Education and Sustainability Training (FEAST) program in 10-12-year-old children in Australia: pragmatic cluster non-randomized controlled trial.BMC public health · 2024Trial
- Trial
- The taste of biodiversity: science and sensory education with different varieties of a vegetable to promote acceptance among primary school children.Public health nutrition · 2021Trial
- Effect of culinary education curriculum on Mediterranean diet adherence and food cost savings in families: a randomised controlled trial.Public health nutrition · 2021Trial
- Effect of classroom intervention on student food selection and plate waste: Evidence from a randomized control trial.PloS one · 2020Trial
- Improving low fruit and vegetable intake in children: Findings from a system dynamics, community group model building study.PloS one · 2019Trial
- Family Home Food Environment and Nutrition-Related Parent and Child Personal and Behavioral Outcomes of the Healthy Home Offerings via the Mealtime Environment (HOME) Plus Program: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics · 2018Trial
- Farm Fresh Foods for Healthy Kids (F3HK): An innovative community supported agriculture intervention to prevent childhood obesity in low-income families and strengthen local agricultural economies.BMC public health · 2017Trial
- Fuel for Fun: a cluster-randomized controlled study of cooking skills, eating behaviors, and physical activity of 4th graders and their families.BMC public health · 2016Trial
- Cooking and Gardening Behaviors and Improvements in Dietary Intake in Hispanic/Latino Youth.Childhood obesity (Print)Trial
- Let's Get Cooking: a mixed methods evaluation of a programme delivering culinary education via a network of cookery clubs across England.Public health nutrition · 2026Article
- Teaching Taste: The TASTE-MED Conceptual Framework for a Multisensory Mediterranean Approach to Food Literacy in Adolescence.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Understanding Australian Adolescents' Perceptions of Healthy and Sustainable Diets, and Perceptions and Consumption of Pulses.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Comparing food literacy by grade, sex, and food education exposure: construct validation of the food literacy BITE scale.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- A qualitative exploration of family experiences with a virtual cooking and nutrition programme.Public health nutrition · 2025Article
25 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionCooking programs have been used to promote healthful eating among people of all ages. This review assesses the evidence on childhood cooking programs and their association with changes in food-related preferences, attitudes, and behaviors of school-aged children.
methodsWe systematically searched PubMed, Ovid-Medline, and CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature) databases. We included primary research articles that involved cooking education programs for children and searched reference lists for eligible articles. Studies considered for review contained a hands-on cooking intervention; had participants aged 5 to 12 years; were published in a peer-reviewed journal on or after January 1, 2003; and were written in English. We used the Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies to rate the strength of each article and assess bias. The following information was extracted from each study: study design, sample size, location, duration, intervention components, data collection methods, and outcomes.
resultsEight studies met the inclusion criteria and used cooking education to influence children's food-related preferences, attitudes, and behaviors. Programs varied in duration, evaluation methods, and outcomes of interest. Self-reported food preparation skills, dietary intake, cooking confidence, fruit and vegetable preferences, attitudes toward food and cooking, and food-related knowledge were among the outcomes measured. Program exposure ranged from 2 sessions to regular instruction over 2 years, and the effect of cooking programs on children's food-related preferences, attitudes, and behaviors varied among the reviewed studies.
conclusionsFindings suggest that cooking programs may positively influence children's food-related preferences, attitudes, and behaviors. However, because study measurements varied widely, determining best practices was difficult. Further research is needed to fill knowledge gaps on ideal program length, long-term effects, and usefulness of parent engagement, tasting lessons, and other intervention components.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.