Impact Evaluation of an After-school Cooking Skills Program in a Disadvantaged Community: Back to Basics.
OBJECTIVE
Few efficacious child obesity interventions have been converted into ongoing community programs in the after-school setting. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of phase 2 of the Back to Basics cooking club on dietary behaviours and fruit and vegetable variety in a population at risk of obesity at a low income school with > 10% indigenous population.


METHODS
Baseline and 3-month dietary intake and social cognitive theory (SCT) constructs were collected in 51 children, mean age 9 years, 61% female. McNemar tests were used for comparison of proportions between categorical variables. Cohen's d was used to compare effect sizes across different measures.


RESULTS
Consumption of one or more fruit servings per day significantly increased from 41% to 67% (P = 0.02, d = 0.13) and there was a trend for increasing the weekly variety of fruit and vegetables. The SCT constructs assessed within the current study improved significantly (P < 0.05), with moderate to large effect sizes (d = 0.33-0.78).


CONCLUSIONS
This study documents that a previous efficacious healthy lifestyle program can be adapted for use as an obesity prevention program addressing improvements in vegetable and fruit intakes in a low income community with a relatively high indigenous population.
a School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW.|b Priority Research Centre in Physical Activity and Nutrition, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW.
Tracy L
TL
Burrows
a School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW.|b Priority Research Centre in Physical Activity and Nutrition, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW.
Hannah
H
Lucas
b Priority Research Centre in Physical Activity and Nutrition, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW.|c School of Education, Faculty of Education and Art, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW.
Philip J
PJ
Morgan
a School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW.
James
J
Bray
a School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW.|b Priority Research Centre in Physical Activity and Nutrition, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW.
Clare E
CE
Collins
D002648:Child; D003296:Cooking; D004032:Diet; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011203:Poverty; D015397:Program Evaluation; D014675:Vegetables; D035862:Vulnerable Populations