Acquisition of Cooking Skills and Associations With Healthy Eating in Swiss Adults

Abstract Objective To evaluate the association of early involvement in cooking activities with cooking skills in adulthood, the importance of different sources for the acquisition, and the link between cooking skills and healthy eating. Design Cross-sectional survey. Participants A random sample of 3,659 Swiss adults (47% men; average age = 58.8 years). Main Outcome Measure Self-reported cooking skills. Analysis ANOVA, Pearson correlations, t tests, and multiple regressions. Results More frequent involvement in cooking activities during childhood predicted better cooking skills in adulthood in males (β = .13, P Conclusions and Implications In children and adolescents, frequent involvement in cooking at home may promote better cooking skills in later life. Additional prospective research into the impact of cooking classes and interventions on developing cooking skills in children and adolescents is warranted.