The relationship between food and cooking skills, and eating behaviors in people with overweight or obesity

Background In the present study, the authors aimed to determine food skills and cooking skills, and eating behaviors, and to evaluate the relationship between food skills and cooking skills, and eating behaviors in people with overweight or obesity. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted with 185 people with overweight or obesity. The researchers collected the study data using the face-to-face interview method through a questionnaire including the Descriptive Information Form, Cooking Skills and Food Skills Scale, and Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R21. Numbers, percentages, arithmetic mean, standard deviation, Student's t-test, Pearson Chi-Square test, and multiple linear regression analysis were used in the analysis of the data. Results The mean scores of the individuals obtained from the overall Cooking Skills and Food Skills Scale, and cooking skills, food skills, uncontrolled eating, cognitive restraint, and emotional eating sub-dimensions were 148.17 +/- 52.20, 70.45 +/- 27.48, 77.84 +/- 28.90, 43.90 +/- 22.74, 36.95 +/- 23.93, and 38.94 +/- 29.17 respectively. Multiple linear regression was fitted to determine the association between food skills and cooking skills and eating behaviors while adjusting for sociodemographic and health-related characteristics. Food skills and cooking skills were positively associated with uncontrolled eating (beta = 0.213, p = 0.030), cognitive restraint (beta = 0.245, p = 0.009), and emotional eating behaviors (beta = 0.338, p = 0.001). Conclusion In people with overweight or obesity, cognitive restraint and emotional eating behaviors improve as their food preparation and cooking skills improve. Therefore, education and public health practices on eating awareness, food skills, and cooking skills can play an important role in bringing healthy behavior change into practice in society.