Put on your apron, the kitchen would take care of your mental and physical health! This is the result of a study conducted by researchers from Edith Cowan University (ECU), published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition.
To feel the positive effects, you don’t even need to eat, this activity would bring confidence and satisfaction.
To carry out their research, the researchers were able to count on the partnership between their university and a program to learn to cook called The Good Foundation. Between 2016 and 2018, 657 participants participated in a seven week program to learn how to cook healthy. Two-thirds were overweight. At the same time, specialists “measured the effect of the program on participants’ cooking confidence and perceived mental health, as well as overall satisfaction with cooking and food-related behaviors”describes the study.
Results? Volunteers who completed the program “found significant improvements in their general healthof their Mental Health and their subjective vitality immediately after the program“. These benefits were maintained six months after the end of the program.
This improvement can be explained by a change in diet. According to a previous study, eating more fruits and vegetables would improve mental health in the longer term. However, “participants’ mental health had improved despite the fact that their diets had not changed after completing the program”explains the study. “It suggests a lien between cooking confidence and satisfaction around the kitchen and mental health benefits”, explains in a press release Dr. Reesprincipal investigator of the study.