"Healthy", "usual" and "convenience" cooking practices patterns: How do they influence children's food consumption?

Abstract

This study identified adults' cooking practices patterns and tested their associations with children's consumption of ultra-processed foods. Cross-sectional study conducted with 551 adult-child pairs from São Paulo, Brazil. Children's food consumption was collected through dietary recalls. Adults' cooking practices were identified using a questionnaire developed for the Brazilian's context. Principal Component Analysis has been employed to identify cooking patterns and linear regression models (crude and adjusted for sociodemographic variables) have been used to test associations between pattern's scores and contribution of ultra-processed foods to total energy at dinners. Three cooking patterns were identified: "Healthy", "Usual" and "Convenience". The first two patterns reflected behaviors of people who mostly cook "from scratch". Only the Healthy pattern (confidence to cook several meals using fresh foods and natural seasonings; healthier cooking techniques) was inversely associated with ultra-processed food consumption (β = -4.1; p = 0.002), whereas the Convenience pattern (less frequency and time to cook, using microwave and ready-to-heat meals) was positively associated with (β = 3.6; p = 0.008). Our results suggest that cooking at home, as an isolated action, is not enough to protect the consumption of ultra-processed foods. To promote healthy eating among children, the adults' cooking practices should be aligned with the preparation of meals made "from scratch", taking into account the healthiness of what is being cooked.

Keywords: Family meals; Food preparation behaviors; Home cooking; Ultra-processed foods.