The Current State of Cooking in Ireland: The Relationship between Cooking Skills and Food Choice John Lydon & Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire

This Research investigated The attitudes of Irish people to food to ascertain whether the acquisition of cooking skills influences food choice 2 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

Rationale Caraher et al. (1999) found that cooking skills play an important part in healthy eating as a vehicle for lower-paid people to achieve a healthy diet and is an essential life-skill. 3 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

We will cover: Current state of health in the Nation Cooking skills in the maintenance of health Findings Conclusion Recommendations 4 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

Irish Diet The North/South Ireland Food Consumption Survey (2000) report indicated that the Irish diet: less than optimum, with iron, calcium and folic acid intakes inadequate in women of childbearing age micronutrient intakes were adequate due mainly to the consumption of vitamin and mineral supplements food intakes are calorie dense, yet nutrient deficient, with increased risk of chronic degenerative diseases 5 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

Irish Diet The frequency of obesity in the population is at an all time high (IHF, 2007) Since 1990 obesity has increased in Ireland by 67% (NSIFCS, 2000) A pilot study in Dublin showed that almost two in every three people tested were at risk of developing Type-2 diabetes (VHI, 2009) 6 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

Irish Diet 10,000 people die each year from cardiovascular disease (CVD) including coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke and other circulatory diseases. CVD is the most common cause of death in Ireland, accounting for 36% of all deaths (IHF, 2009) 7 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

Irish Diet Processed foods are heavily consumed by adults in the 15–24 year age brackets, who have grown up primarily on a diet of convenience food (Mintel, 2006) The reheating of these products is not classified as cooking in the true meaning of the word 8 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

Irish Diet Imperative that individuals become more knowledgeable about food in order to maintain or improve health (Germov & Williams, 1999) 9 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

Cooking Skills Cooking is all empowering in that it gives back the propensity to individuals and families to have a varied and balanced diet (Caraher et al., 1999; Caraher & Lang, 1999) They found that people wanted to expand their skill base but found it challenging because they had not developed the skills to experiment with cooking 10 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

Cooking Skills Crotty (1999) hypothesises that the acquisition and knowledge of food preparation skills is a means that can guard against what he calls food insufficiency 11 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

Means of Learning to Cook In the home In school 12 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

Sample Respondents were drawn from staff and students from Athlone Institute of Technology According to the theory of probability, this geographically heterogeneous sample is representative of the region and therefore the country as a whole (Oppenheim, 1992) 13 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

Country of Origin 14 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

Age of Respondents 15 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

Home Cooking 16 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

How Often Would You ? 17 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

How Often Would You ? 18 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

How Often Would You ? 19 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

How Often Would You ? 20 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

How Often Would You ? 21 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

What is your main reason for purchasing convenience food? 22 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

How health conscious are you about the food you eat? 23 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

How often do you cook in a week? 24 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

Conclusions Achieving a healthy balanced diet remains a challenge for many people at all levels of Irish society, but it is particularly important for those that cannot cook The reliance on convenience food may mean an unconscious over-consumption of fats, salts and sugar Continued consumption of convenience foods without the necessary knowledge of food preparation reduces awareness of a healthy diet 25 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

Conclusions Changing family dynamics mean that parents are not cooking from fresh raw ingredients possibly due to work commitments Educators need to make this subject more attractive and accessible to all students Without having previous experience, those wishing to learn cooking skills may be left without a knowledge base from which to build 26 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

Conclusions Many researchers are concerned that this may lead to a de-skilling of cooking skills There is growing reliance upon pre-prepared food in the preparation of family meals Despite the current recession and possibility of being out of work, people may be lacking the inclination or time to cook meals from scratch Lack of practice will certainly affect cooking competence 27 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

The findings suggest that: It is time to re-examine the significance of cooking with regard to health and health promotion If health promoters realistically wish to increase the Irish populations compliance with dietary guidelines then a positive support structure for domestic cooking skills is essential 28 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

Recommendations Develop a strategy that addresses secondary school students low involvement in Home Economic programmes once the junior certificate cycle is complete Curriculum should enable the acquisition of key skills – changing family circumstances should be taken in to account Those psychomotive skills that require time to develop should be catered for in the programme 29 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

Summary: Current state of health in the Nation Cooking skills in the maintenance of health Findings Conclusion Recommendations 30 Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]