Relationship between cooking skills, diet behavior, and obesity in Palestinian society | BMC Nutrition

Cooking skills extends beyond simply knowing recipes; they encompass confidence, attitude, and the ability to apply personal knowledge to tasks such as meal planning, shopping, and preparing different types of food, whether fresh or processed [1]. These skills differ across cultures, reflecting various methods such as grilling, steaming, stewing, and stir-frying vary worldwide. The specific skills needed can change depending on local culinary practices [2].

Cooking skills are increasingly acknowledged as an essential part of daily life [3]. They include more than just physical actions of chopping, mixing, and heating food. They also involve an understanding transformation of food during cooking process [4]. Enhancing cooking skills is a key factor in encouraging individuals to prepare meals at home [5]. Literature indicates that better cooking competencies is associated with less consumption of fast food, intake of food at restaurant and consumption of highly processed food indicating better dietary choices [2]. Several studies have found that people with high cooking skills tend to eat less fast food, convenience foods, and heavily processed items [6,7,8]. Furthermore, intervention programs demonstrates that improving cooking skills not only increases confidence in meal preparation but also increases intake of fruits and vegetables [9].

Obesity is a chronic condition that significantly increases serious health complications, either by contributing to development of new diseases or exacerbating existing ones, ultimately reducing life expectancy. Obesity is multi-factorial encompassing economic, cultural, political, and personal factors [10]. At individual level, obesity is strongly associated to lifestyle factors such as reduced physical activity, unhealthy eating patterns, and frequent consumption of high energy [11]. These dietary behaviors reflect broader nutritional transitions characterized today shift away from fresh foods toward processed, ultra-processed foods, as well as changes in food storage and preparation practices, all of which are important implications for health [10].

The global rise in obesity and decline in diet quality underscore the importance of examining home cooking as potential strategy for preventing weight gain. Home food preparation is widely regarded as means of improving diet quality [3]. Evidence indicates that cooking knowledge, skills and related habits influence both food choices and body weight. Proficiency in food preparation may therefore play critical role in dietary management and maintenance of healthy body weight [12].

Recent research demonstrates that frequent home cooking and the development of cooking skills are associated with healthier diets, improved health outcomes, and more effective weight management [13, 14]. Improved cooking skills are linked to healthier eating habits and higher intake specific nutrients in the diet [3]. Developing these skills may facilitate obesity prevention by encouraging individuals to select and prepare more nutritious foods. At the population level, promoting home-cooking and food preparation skills represents potentially important public health strategy [15]. Longitudinal evidence supports this link, a 5 years study found that women who regularly prepared meals had reduced risk of obesity attributable to healthier eating choices [12]. Moreover, relevance of cooking skills extends to children, particularly in the context of rising childhood obesity. Home food preparation habits are an area that needs more focus and research [16].

Eating habits and skills related to food and cooking refer to choices, motivations, nutritional practices, diets, and issues like obesity and eating disorders [17]. People may eat differently even when meeting their nutritional needs. Many factors influence these differences, including genetics, environment, hormones, emotions, social background, experiences, cultural and religious beliefs, media influences, body image concerns, hunger, and appetite [17, 18]. Disruptions in eating behavior can lead to health problems such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer [19, 20]. It is clear that obesity can affect eating behaviors, and poor eating habits can also lead to obesity. Behaviors like overeating, emotional eating, and restrictive eating are linked to being overweight [3]. Paying more attention to how people eat and how they think about food can help those with weight issues choose healthier diets. Promoting awareness of eating patterns can support better food choices and healthier lifestyles [21].

Palestinian cuisine, inspired by the Mediterranean, features foods such as olive oil, green leafy vegetables, grapes, various fruits, and dairy products [22]. Society in Palestine is experiencing health changes due to open food markets and interactions with different countries [23]. Obesity and chronic illnesses are increasing across the Palestinian territory, coinciding with changes in eating habits [24]. A recent study by Palestinian researchers shows that 65.3% of people are overweight or obese, while 33% have metabolic syndrome [25]. Like other middle-income nations, Palestine is facing a shift in health patterns, driven by the adoption of Western lifestyles. This shift includes eating more fast food and restaurant meals that are high in salt, sugar, refined carbs, fried meats, and potatoes [24]. Urban areas see significant changes in dietary habits among many countries, including Palestine [26]. Improving nutrition knowledge could play a key role in slowing the rise of the obesity and chronic diseases epidemic in Palestine [27].

The leading causes of death in Palestine are now linked to poor diets and non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, and type 2 diabetes [24]. It is widely understood that unhealthy food choices and lack of activity are key risk factors for these illnesses [28]. Addressing the rise of non-communicable diseases in Palestine requires a focus on improving diet and changing behavioral habits. Factors influencing food choices include personal preferences, social influences, cultural norms, and interpersonal relationships. These elements play a significant role in shaping dietary behaviors within the community [29].

Given the limited number of studies examining the relationship between cooking skills, diet behaviors, and obesity in the literature, the current study aimed to identify these skills and evaluate the relationship between them in Palestinian society.