Use of Interactive Recipes to Improve Nutrition Self-Efficacy Among College Students
Sofiia Korotka
Co-Presenters: Individual Presentation
College: The Dorothy and George Hennings College of Science, Mathematics and Technology
Major: Biotechnology/Molecular Biology - STEM 5 Year B.S./M.S.
Faculty Research Mentor: Kim Spaccarotella
Abstract:
College students often struggle with healthy eating due to various factors such as limited kitchen access, lack of culinary skills and nutrition knowledge, time constraints, and financial pressures that can lead them to rely on unfamiliar ingredients from on-campus food pantries. The previous phase of this project identified educational recipe videos as useful tools for improving college students' self-efficacy when it comes to culinary skills and healthy eating habits. The purpose of this project's current phase was to design a student-friendly recipe book for one-person meals, utilizing food pantry ingredients so it can be pilot-tested for its effectiveness in developing college students’ culinary skills and nutrition knowledge, and promoting healthy eating habits. The researcher selected three simple recipes modified from MyPlate Kitchen and wrote a video script for each, using the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning as a guide. Three short informative recipe videos were produced. The new videos were implemented into a recipe book including videos created by the previous researcher. The next phase of this project is to pilot-test the recipe book. The pilot test will use a brief survey based on previous research in the field to assess any difference in self-efficacy in culinary abilities and eating habits specific to produce consumption before and after using this recipe book. The feedback and results will suggest improvements for the recipe book to be revised to achieve more effective interaction with the users. After revision, the recipe book will be made available to other campus pantries to expand its impact.Keywords: Interactive Recipes, College Students, Eating Habits, Recipe Book