The Current State of Cooking in Ireland: The Relationship between Cooking Skills and Food Choice...

The Current State of Cooking in Ireland:The Relationship betweenCooking Skills and Food Choice

John Lydon&Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire

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This Research investigated

The attitudes of Irish people to food to ascertain whether the acquisition of cooking skills influences food choice

Lydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

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RationaleCaraher 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.


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We will cover:Current state of health in the

NationCooking skills in the maintenance

of healthFindingsConclusionRecommendations


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Irish DietThe 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

diseasesLydon & Mac Con Iomaire [2011]

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Irish DietThe 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)


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Irish Diet10,000 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)


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Irish DietProcessed 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


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Irish DietImperative that individuals

become more knowledgeable about food in order to maintain or improve health (Germov & Williams, 1999)


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Cooking SkillsCooking 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


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Cooking SkillsCrotty (1999) hypothesises that

the acquisition and knowledge of food preparation skills is a means that can guard against what he calls ‘food insufficiency’


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Means of Learning to Cook

In the home

In school


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SampleRespondents 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)


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Country of Origin

Ireland UK Poland China France Iraq Hungry India Mexico Germany Russia Cameroon Spain Lithuania Latvia USA Nigeria Ghana Australian

251 Respondents


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Age of Respondents

17 - 26

27 - 36

37 - 46

47 - 56

57 +

251 Respondents


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Home Cooking

Yes

No


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How Often Would You?

7.60%

22.70%

34.70%

21.90%

8.40%

Purchase Processed/Con-venience Foods

1 (Always)

2 (Most of time)

3 (About half)

4 (Not Often)

5 (Never)


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52.20%

25.90%

9.60%

6.80%4.40%

Purchase Fresh Fruit and Vegetables

1 (Always)2 (Most of time)3 (About half)4 (Not Often)5 (Never)


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24.70%

30.30%

24.70%

10.40%

7.60%

Purchase Meat

1 (Always)

2 (Most of time)

3 (About half)

4 (Not Often)

5 (Never)


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36.70%

34.30%

15.10%

5.20%7.20%

Purchase Chicken



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15.10%

21.10%

29.50%

13.50%

18.70%

Purchase Fish



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What is your main reason for purchasing convenience food?

49.80%

7.60%

8.00%

19.10%

4.80%

Too busy to cook

Lack of cooking skills

Less physical energy required

Allows more free time

Prefer it to freshly prepared food


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How health conscious are you about the food you eat?

6.00%

33.50%

51.40%

8.00%

Extremely health conscious Very health conscious Moderately health conscious Not very health conscious Not health conscious at all


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How often do you cook in a week?

7 tim

es

5-6

times

3-4

times

1-2

times

<1 da

y pe

r wee

k

Spec

ial o

ccas

ions

only

0

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25


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ConclusionsAchieving 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


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ConclusionsChanging 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


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ConclusionsMany researchers are concerned that this

may lead to a de-skilling of cooking skillsThere 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


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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 population’s compliance with dietary guidelines then a positive support structure for domestic cooking skills is essential


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RecommendationsDevelop 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


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Summary:Current state of health in the

NationCooking skills in the maintenance

of healthFindingsConclusionRecommendations


The Current State of Cooking in Ireland: The Relationship between Cooking Skills and Food Choice...

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