Culinary Medicine Interventions Among Racial and Ethnic Minority and Underrepresented Populations: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Introduction: Racial and ethnic minority populations experience a higher rate of diet-related disparities compared to the general population. Culinary medicine interventions have the potential to help improve health equity among disadvantaged groups. We examined behavioral, anthropometric, and laboratory outcomes of culinary medicine interventions among racial and ethnic minority and underrepresented populations. Methods: All articles on the PubMed database were searched to identify eligible studies with no date limitation. Articles that included a culinary medicine intervention for racial and ethnic minority and underrepresented populations were eligible for inclusion. Results: A total of 25 articles were included. There were 4186 participants with 3268 adult, 857 child, and 2452 female participants. Participants predominantly identified as Black (25.0%), South Asian (21.6%), and Hispanic (33.5%). Studies varied in design, setting, length, and outcomes (e.g., behavior, clinical). Overall, outcomes varied in significance and effect size. Risk of bias was high among studies. Discussion: Culinary medicine interventions appear to be successfully integrated across various settings and among diverse populations with variable effect on behavioral changes and anthropometric measurement changes. Conclusion: Culinary medicine interventions show promise for improving diet-related health equity; however, greater rigor and controlled study designs are needed.