Good Grubbin': impact of a TV cooking show for college students living off campus.
OBJECTIVE
To determine if a series of 4 15-minute, theory-driven (Social Cognitive Theory) cooking programs aimed at college students living off campus improved cooking self-efficacy, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding fruit and vegetable intake.


METHODS
A randomized controlled trial with pre-, post- and follow-up tests.


METHODS
University campus.


METHODS
Students (n = 101) from upper-level nonhealth courses (n = 37 male and n = 94 living off campus).


METHODS
The intervention group (n = 50) watched 4 weekly episodes of the cooking show, Good Grubbin'. The control group (n = 51) watched 4 weekly episodes on sleep disorders.


METHODS
Demographic information; knowledge, self-efficacy, motivations, barriers of eating fruits and vegetables; self-efficacy, motivations, barriers and behaviors of cooking; fruit and vegetable intake food frequency questionnaire.


METHODS
Repeated-measure analysis of variance and chi-square analyses were used to compare outcome variables.


RESULTS
There were significant improvements in knowledge of fruit and vegetable recommendations in the intervention group compared to the control group postintervention and at 4-month follow-up (P < .05). There were no significant changes in fruit and vegetable motivators, barriers, self-efficacy or intake.


CONCLUSIONS
A television show on nutrition and cooking may be influential in changing students' knowledge, but it seems to have little impact on dietary behaviors. With a recent increase in popularity of cooking shows, future research should investigate the impact an extended cooking and nutrition show series might have on young adult viewers.
Department of Nutrition and Food Science, California State University-Chico, Chico 95929-002, CA. declifford@csuchico.edu
Dawn
D
Clifford
Jennifer
J
Anderson
Garry
G
Auld
Joseph
J
Champ
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D003296:Cooking / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005638:Fruit; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D052756:Nutritional Sciences / Q000193:education*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D020377:Self Efficacy; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013690:Television; D014675:Vegetables; D055815:Young Adult