Self-efficacy in cooking and consuming fruits and vegetables among Brazilian university students: the relationship with sociodemographic characteristics
ISSN: 0007-070X
Article publication date: 15 January 2021
Issue publication date: 28 June 2021
Abstract
Purpose
Self-efficacy in cooking and consuming fruits and vegetables is one of the dimensions that compose cooking skills. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the self-efficacy of Brazilian university students in cooking and consuming fruits and vegetables and examine the relationship of self-efficacy with sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected through an online questionnaire, which was culturally adapted and validated for the studied population. Questions about self-efficacy for using basic cooking techniques (SECT), self-efficacy for using fruits, vegetables, and seasonings (SEFVS) and produce consumption self-efficacy (SEPC) were rated on a five-point Likert scale. Differences in median self-efficacy score between groups were compared using the Mann–Whitney U test or the Kruskal–Wallis test followed by the Mann–Whitney U test.
Findings
766 subjects participated in the study. The mean age was 21 ± 5.6 years, most respondents were female (60%), reported to know how to cook (72%), and lived with parents and/or grandparents (45%). The median SECT and SEFVS scores were 3.55, and the median SEPC score was 3.33. Female students, individuals aged more than 25 years, and students who did not live with their parents or grandparents had higher (p < 0.005) self-efficacy scores. Low SECT, SEFVS and SEPC scores were associated with having less than one hour a day to cook (p = 0.023, 0.01, and 0.002, respectively) and not knowing how to cook (p < 0.001). There was no relationship of median self-efficacy scores with source of knowledge about cooking skills or parental education.
Originality/value
The results of this study can guide interventions and public policies aimed at health promotion in the university setting.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This study was funded by the Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES, Brazilian Ministry of Education) and the Human Resources Development Program (PRODEP) of the Federal University of Alagoas (UFAL). GLB and MMJ received a doctoral scholarship from CAPES, and RPCP is supported by a Research Productivity Scholarship from the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis or interpretation. We thank all students of the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) who took part in this study and the undergraduate program staff who kindly forwarded the questionnaire to the students.
Citation
de Borba, T.P., da Silva, M.V., Jomori, M.M., Bernardo, G.L., Fernandes, A.C., Proença, R.P.d.C., Rockenbach, G. and Uggioni, P.L. (2021), "Self-efficacy in cooking and consuming fruits and vegetables among Brazilian university students: the relationship with sociodemographic characteristics", British Food Journal, Vol. 123 No. 6, pp. 2049-2065. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-04-2020-0311
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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