Objectives
Consumption of food away from home is associated with higher caloric intake and poorer diet quality compared to home-cooked food. The group-based advance quantity meal prep (AQMP) program was developed to increase the frequency of consumption of home-cooked meals. This pilot study aimed to determine the effects of the AQMP program on the frequency of consumption of home-cooked meals, cooking attitudes, cooking self-efficacy, and anthropometrics.
Methods
Participants were recruited from a fitness center and met at a commercial kitchen once a week for 6 weeks to complete the AQMP program. At each session, participants prepared meals in bulk and packaged individual portions. Participants were sent home with 10 meals and 5 snacks each week. These meals are defined as home-cooked. A questionnaire, height, weight, hip circumference, waist circumference, skeletal muscle mass, body fat mass, body fat percentage, and body mass index (BMI) were taken at three time points: pre-program (T1), immediately post-program (T2), and 3 months post-program (T3). The questionnaire assessed: physical activity, cooking attitudes, cooking self-efficacy, and cooking behavior and consumption.
Results
Statistically significant increases were seen in total cooking attitudes between T1 and T3 (P = 0.01), cooking self-efficacy between T1 and T2 (P = 0.002), and reported percentage of home-cooked dinner consumption between T1 (52 ± 29%) and T2 (86 ± 14%, P = 0.04). Significant decreases in weight between T1 (85.1 ± 27.8 kg) and T3 (83.3 ± 27.4 kg, P = 0.03), body fat mass between T1 (32.0 ± 21.6 kg) and T2 (30.3 ± 21.4 kg; P = 0.01), and T1 (32.0 ± 21.6 kg) and T3 (28.6 ± 22.4 kg, P = 0.01), and BMI between T1 (31.7 ± 9.4 kg/m2) and T2 (31.0 ± 9.0 kg/m2, P = 0.03) were also observed.
Conclusions
This pilot study indicates that a 6-week AQMP program increased consumption of home-cooked meals and may have contributed to improvement in body composition suggesting the potential of AQMP as a tool for weight management. Additionally, incorporating a collaborative group dynamic with AQMP likely aided in increasing participant cooking attitudes and cooking self-efficacy. The positive results in this pilot study suggests that larger, controlled studies on the efficacy of group-based AQMP is warranted.
Funding Sources
None.