Background:

Confidence in cooking skills is relevant in health. The objective was to study the status of cooking skills and consumption of ready meal among university students in the city of Barcelona, assessing their association with sociodemographic variables and confidence in some culinary skills and knowing how to cook.

Methods:

Cross-sectional study, carried out during the 2014-2015 academic year, 525 students (81.3% women, median age 21 years) using an on-line questionnaire. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed; odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated.

Results:

Between 53% and 89% of the students reported feeling very confident in 10 of the 18 cooking skills. No statistically significant differences were observed by sex, and between 62% and 86% of those over 21 years expressed great confidence in 9 competitions. The consumption of ready meal was prevalent (49.4%) and associated with age (OR=0.95 95% CI: 0.91-0.99), gender (male, OR=1.98 95% CI: 1.23-3.18) and not knowing how to cook (OR=2.25 95% CI: 1.10-4.60). In students who knew how to cook, eating ready meal was associated with gender (male, OR =1.67 95% CI: 1.00 to 2.77) and no longer feel confident in preparing more than one food at one time (OR = 1.73 95% CI: 1.58 to 2.60).

Conclusions:

Students at a university in Barcelona have a level in cooking skills which could be improved, and consume ready meals usually.

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