Cooking for health
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and Public Health England (PHE) recommend that we aim to eat at least five fruit and vegetables (F&V) a day, that’s 400-500g/day. Across the UK most of us fail to meet this target. In fact, most people eat only 3.7 portions of F&V a day and only a quarter of adults meet the recommended five portions a day, a trend which has been consistent over time and seen across the world.
The term ‘fruit and vegetables’ include most F&V, apart from starchy staple vegetables, such as white potato. Fresh, cooked, frozen, chilled, canned, and dried F&V are included. As are pulses, beans and vegetables contained within meals. A single portion is relative to the size of your fist (roughly 60g for children and 80g for adults).
National surveys show that there is a positive correlation between the average amount of F&V consumed and equivalised household income. This means that those who experience low-income and have fewer education qualifications, are more likely to eat below the recommended F&V intake. One reason for this pattern can be explained by the rise in food prices coupled with an economic recession, which has led people to buy cheaper, more energy-dense, processed foods, and therefore fewer lower energy F&V. People in low-income groups also spend proportionally more on food overall than people who do not experience low-income and are most at risk of not meeting the WHO recommended vegetable intake. This group are also at risk of increased heart health related risk factors. Unfortunately, this disparity in wealth and health is also seen in many countries.
Behavioural strategies such as cooking from scratch has the potential to improve overall diet quality which includes increased vegetable intake. The benefits of cooking are multifactorial and are not limited to an increase in vegetable intake. Research has found that a lack of cooking skills and food preparation knowledge is the primary barrier to people cooking from scratch and accounts for those with poor education and self-efficacy. As such, recommendations in the National Food Strategy Plan (2021) state that nutrition and cooking education should be integral in England’s public health policy.
Developing cooking skills has been shown to improve cooking attitude, confidence, and dietary outcomes. As cooking has the potential to improve overall diet quality, it can therefore improve health, especially for those most in need.
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