{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,10]],"date-time":"2026-04-10T02:00:04Z","timestamp":1775786404596,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,14]],"date-time":"2025-06-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1749859200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e Tecnologia","award":["POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029269"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029269"]}]},{"name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e Tecnologia","award":["UID\/04033 and LA\/P\/0126\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UID\/04033 and LA\/P\/0126\/2020"]}]},{"name":"FCT\u2014Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology","award":["POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029269"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029269"]}]},{"name":"FCT\u2014Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology","award":["UID\/04033 and LA\/P\/0126\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UID\/04033 and LA\/P\/0126\/2020"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Societies"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Cooking skills represent an important yet often overlooked form of social and cultural capital, influencing dietary quality and health outcomes. As modern societies face growing challenges related to unhealthy eating patterns and a loss of traditional food practices, understanding the societal role of culinary competence becomes critical. This study explored the association between culinary skills, adherence to the Mediterranean diet, and nutritional intake. Methods: Baseline data from 111 adults (60 women; mean age 47.6 \u00b1 10.5 years) participating in the iMC SALT randomized controlled trial (Portugal) were analyzed. Culinary skills were assessed using the Cooking Skills Score, while the dietary intake was evaluated with a Food Frequency Questionnaire and adherence to the Mediterranean diet through the alternative Mediterranean Diet (aMED) Score. Food and beverage processing levels were categorized using the NOVA classification, and the sodium\/potassium intake was measured via 24 h urinary excretion. Results: Women demonstrated better culinary skills (5.1 \u00b1 0.9 vs. 4.0 \u00b1 1.1, p &lt; 0.001) and greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet (5.1 \u00b1 1.9 vs. 3.8 \u00b1 1.8, p = 0.001) than men. Better culinary skills were associated with younger age, larger households, and increased adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Culinary skills significantly explained 27.2% of the variance in the Mediterranean diet adherence. Better culinary skills were linked to a greater energy and protein intake; but a lower sodium and potassium intake. Conclusion: These findings highlight culinary skills as a key societal factor shaping dietary behavior and nutritional intake. Promoting culinary education may offer a powerful strategy to address dietary inequalities, support cultural food heritage, and foster healthier, more resilient societies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/soc15060164","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,16]],"date-time":"2025-06-16T04:06:24Z","timestamp":1750046784000},"page":"164","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Cooking Skills and Mediterranean Diet Adherence: Societal Insights from the iMC SALT Trial"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6113-1456","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carla","family":"Gon\u00e7alves","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"RISE-Health, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal"},{"name":"CITAB\u2014Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences, Inov4Agro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal"},{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio para a Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o Integrativa e Translacional em Sa\u00fade Populacional (ITR), EPIUnit-Instituto de Sa\u00fade P\u00fablica, Universidade do Porto, 4050-600 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6310-4956","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Patr\u00edcia","family":"Padr\u00e3o","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio para a Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o Integrativa e Translacional em Sa\u00fade Populacional (ITR), EPIUnit-Instituto de Sa\u00fade P\u00fablica, Universidade do Porto, 4050-600 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Faculdade de Ci\u00eancias da Nutri\u00e7\u00e3o e Alimenta\u00e7\u00e3o, Universidade do Porto, 4150-180 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Ol\u00edvia","family":"Pinho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculdade de Ci\u00eancias da Nutri\u00e7\u00e3o e Alimenta\u00e7\u00e3o, Universidade do Porto, 4150-180 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0684-5472","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"T\u00e2nia","family":"Silva-Santos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio para a Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o Integrativa e Translacional em Sa\u00fade Populacional (ITR), EPIUnit-Instituto de Sa\u00fade P\u00fablica, Universidade do Porto, 4050-600 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7035-7799","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pedro","family":"Moreira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio para a Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o Integrativa e Translacional em Sa\u00fade Populacional (ITR), EPIUnit-Instituto de Sa\u00fade P\u00fablica, Universidade do Porto, 4050-600 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Faculdade de Ci\u00eancias da Nutri\u00e7\u00e3o e Alimenta\u00e7\u00e3o, Universidade do Porto, 4150-180 Porto, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1467","DOI":"10.30574\/wjarr.2024.21.1.0177","article-title":"Global nutrition challenges: A public health review of dietary risks and interventions","volume":"21","author":"Muonde","year":"2024","journal-title":"World J. 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