Location
Philadelphia, PA
Start Date
30-4-2025 1:00 PM
End Date
30-4-2025 4:00 PM
Description
Introduction: Around 60 percent of American adults have at least one chronic disease that could mostly be managed by nutrition. The Mediterranean diet has been linked to reducing the risk of numerous health conditions, including hypertension, coronary artery disease, and other cardiovascular diseases that have high prevalence in the city of Philadelphia. This diet is known for scaling back on salt and red meats along with having an increased focus on whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, olive oil, and healthy fats. With its ability to provide satiety and variation based on individual palate preferences, Mediterranean cuisine has been shown to have high compliance and a positive impact on health outcomes. The importance of educating individuals on the value of holistic dietary habits is profound, as there are various studies that demonstrate how education increases the likelihood of patients incorporating proper nutrition in their daily lives.
Methods: This study featured interactive food demonstrations within clinical settings . Patients in the waiting room first completed a demographic survey, followed by a pre survey with eight nutrition related questions to assess their baseline knowledge and habits. During recipe sampling, a guided discussion of the patient’s responses, followed by a post-survey of the same eight questions to evaluate knowledge retention. The patient received ingredient take-home bags to encourage at-home replication. Follow-up surveys at one and three months assess retention of nutritional knowledge and any dietary behavior changes.
Results: There was a statistically significant improvement in test scores following the food demonstration, with the mean test scores increasing from 47.03% to 88.14% (p< 0.001). At the one-month follow-up, participants reported that the food demonstration impacted their food choices, averaging a score of 3.88 on a 5-point scale, where 5 indicates a significant impact. Participants reported they ate home-cooked meals more frequently (p=0.013) and ate whole grains more frequently (p=0.021) at the one-month follow-up compared to baseline. Additionally, a moderate correlation was observed between participants who initially expressed a likelihood of making the recipes and those who actually prepared them at the one-month follow-up (ρ=0.544, p=0.007).
Discussion: Interactive food demonstrations serve as an effective and engaging tool for enhancing nutrition education and influencing dietary choices, suggesting their potential role in reducing chronic disease prevalence in the Philadelphia community. Participants showed significant improvements in nutrition knowledge and reported increased home-cooked meal frequency. However, a larger sample size is necessary to assess demographic differences. Limitations include the short follow-up time, limited access to healthy ingredients, and reliance on self-reported data. Further research with extended follow-up is necessary to evaluate the sustainability of diet changes and the potential long-term impact on blood pressure. Integrating these demonstrations into community health programs could enhance their impact and reach.
Embargo Period
11-29-2025
The impact of interactive food demonstration on nutrition education and dietary habits
Philadelphia, PA
Introduction: Around 60 percent of American adults have at least one chronic disease that could mostly be managed by nutrition. The Mediterranean diet has been linked to reducing the risk of numerous health conditions, including hypertension, coronary artery disease, and other cardiovascular diseases that have high prevalence in the city of Philadelphia. This diet is known for scaling back on salt and red meats along with having an increased focus on whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, olive oil, and healthy fats. With its ability to provide satiety and variation based on individual palate preferences, Mediterranean cuisine has been shown to have high compliance and a positive impact on health outcomes. The importance of educating individuals on the value of holistic dietary habits is profound, as there are various studies that demonstrate how education increases the likelihood of patients incorporating proper nutrition in their daily lives.
Methods: This study featured interactive food demonstrations within clinical settings . Patients in the waiting room first completed a demographic survey, followed by a pre survey with eight nutrition related questions to assess their baseline knowledge and habits. During recipe sampling, a guided discussion of the patient’s responses, followed by a post-survey of the same eight questions to evaluate knowledge retention. The patient received ingredient take-home bags to encourage at-home replication. Follow-up surveys at one and three months assess retention of nutritional knowledge and any dietary behavior changes.
Results: There was a statistically significant improvement in test scores following the food demonstration, with the mean test scores increasing from 47.03% to 88.14% (p< 0.001). At the one-month follow-up, participants reported that the food demonstration impacted their food choices, averaging a score of 3.88 on a 5-point scale, where 5 indicates a significant impact. Participants reported they ate home-cooked meals more frequently (p=0.013) and ate whole grains more frequently (p=0.021) at the one-month follow-up compared to baseline. Additionally, a moderate correlation was observed between participants who initially expressed a likelihood of making the recipes and those who actually prepared them at the one-month follow-up (ρ=0.544, p=0.007).
Discussion: Interactive food demonstrations serve as an effective and engaging tool for enhancing nutrition education and influencing dietary choices, suggesting their potential role in reducing chronic disease prevalence in the Philadelphia community. Participants showed significant improvements in nutrition knowledge and reported increased home-cooked meal frequency. However, a larger sample size is necessary to assess demographic differences. Limitations include the short follow-up time, limited access to healthy ingredients, and reliance on self-reported data. Further research with extended follow-up is necessary to evaluate the sustainability of diet changes and the potential long-term impact on blood pressure. Integrating these demonstrations into community health programs could enhance their impact and reach.