A Cooking Simulation Game for Local Traditional Foods to Enhance Adolescent Food Literacy and Healthy Eating Habits

Authors

  • Nuhiyah Department of History Education, Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University, Indonesia
  • Nashar Department of History Education, Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University, Indonesia
  • Yuni Maryuni Department of History Education, Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University, Indonesia
  • Ratih Lutfita Ningtyas Department of History Education, Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University, Indonesia
  • Rizky Khairina Department of History Education, Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21009/jtp.v28i2.71426

Keywords:

Food Literacy, Game, Healthy Eating Habits, Local Traditional Foods

Abstract

Eating behaviors and choices related to healthy food are connected to food literacy, which plays a crucial role in adolescents' health. A cooking simulation game immerses players in traditional culinary practices and recipes, providing an interactive experience that involves cooking, ingredient selection, and understanding planting and harvesting cycles. This study used a quantitative approach with a pretest-posttest control group design to evaluate the effectiveness of a cooking simulation game in improving food literacy and healthy eating habits among adolescents. The study involved 126 adolescents aged 15 to 18 from a high school in Banten. Data analysis was performed using MANOVA in JASP software. Results showed that the experimental group had a significantly greater improvement in food literacy and healthy eating behaviors compared to the control group. Pillai’s Trace yielded a value of 0.8953, with F(4,121)=258.600 and p < 0.001, indicating a significant combined difference between the groups in food literacy and healthy eating behaviors. This finding suggests that traditional food-based cooking simulation games can improve food literacy and encourage healthy eating habits in teenagers, making them a practical interactive option for food and nutrition education.

References

Ares, G., De Rosso, S., Mueller, C., Philippe, K., Pickard, A., Nicklaus, S., van Kleef, E., & Varela, P. (2024). Development of food literacy in children and adolescents: implications for the design of strategies to promote healthier and more sustainable diets. Nutrition Reviews, 82(4), 536–552.

Arshad, M. T., Maqsood, S., Altalhi, R., Shamlan, G., Mohamed Ahmed, I. A., Ikram, A., & Abdullahi, M. A. (2025). Role of dietary carbohydrates in cognitive function: A review. Food Science & Nutrition, 13(7), e70516.

Balaji, M., Vashishth, R., & Das, U. (2026). Plant-based functional foods for healthy aging: current trends, bioactive compounds, and future perspectives. Journal of Functional Foods, 138, 107155.

Bisogno, A., Leone, L., D’Oria, V., Agostoni, C., & Abodi, M. (2026). Learning About Healthy Nutrition by Doing: Experiential Approaches in School-Based Nutrition Education. Nutrients, 18(10), 1610.

Chaisriya, K., Gilbert, L., Suwangerd, R., & Rattanarungrot, S. (2022). A digital game for preserving food cultural heritage: design and evaluation of ThaiFoodAdventure game. International Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering (IJECE), 12(5), 5272–5278.

Chow, C. Y., Riantiningtyas, R. R., Kanstrup, M. B., Papavasileiou, M., Liem, G. D., & Olsen, A. (2020). Can games change children’s eating behaviour? A review of gamification and serious games. Food Quality and Preference, 80, 103823.

Dewi, I. C., Minantyo, H., Wibowo, O. H., Wulandari, S., Caroline, K. M., Hadipratista, N. S., Ibrahim, R. P. S., & Wardanna, J. R. (2025). Pelatihan Teknik Pengolahan Makanan Tradisional Bagi Peserta Didik SD Citra Berkat Surabaya. I-Com: Indonesian Community Journal, 5(1), 276–284.

Guiné, R. P. F., Florença, S. G., Aparício, G., Cardoso, A. P., & Ferreira, M. (2022). Food literacy scale: Validation through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis in a sample of portuguese university students. Nutrients, 15(1), 166.

Hidayat, A. N. F., Dinanti, A. D., & Fathiyyah, K. D. (2024). Preferensi mahasiswa terhadap makanan tradisional dengan makanan cepat saji dari segi pemahaman bahan kimia. Journal of Nutrition and Culinary, 4(1), 29–37.

Holzmann, S. L., Schäfer, H., Groh, G., Plecher, D. A., Klinker, G., Schauberger, G., Hauner, H., & Holzapfel, C. (2019). Short-term effects of the serious game “Fit, Food, Fun” on nutritional knowledge: a pilot study among children and adolescents. Nutrients, 11(9), 2031.

Kato-Lin, Y.-C., Kumar, U. B., Sri Prakash, B., Prakash, B., Varadan, V., Agnihotri, S., Subramanyam, N., Krishnatray, P., & Padman, R. (2020). Impact of pediatric mobile game play on healthy eating behavior: randomized controlled trial. JMIR MHealth and UHealth, 8(11), e15717.

Kusumaningsih, I., Patemah, P., Wiradnyani, N. K., Hasan, A. B. P., & Kamri, A. M. (2025). The effectiveness of digital nutrition education interventions on behavioral changes in fast food consumption. AcTion: Aceh Nutrition Journal, 10(4), 926–934.

Lamas, S., Rebelo, S., da Costa, S., Sousa, H., Zagalo, N., & Pinto, E. (2023). The influence of serious games in the promotion of healthy diet and physical activity health: a systematic review. Nutrients, 15(6), 1399.

Limone, P., Messina, G., & Toto, G. A. (2022). Serious games and eating behaviors: A systematic review of the last 5 years (2018–2022). Frontiers in Nutrition, 9, 978793.

Ma, X., Nan, F., Liang, H., Shu, P., Fan, X., Song, X., Hou, Y., & Zhang, D. (2022). Excessive intake of sugar: An accomplice of inflammation. Frontiers in Immunology, 13, 988481.

Mitsis, K., Zarkogianni, K., Bountouni, N., Athanasiou, M., & Nikita, K. S. (2019). An ontology-based serious game design for the development of nutrition and food literacy skills. 2019 41st Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), 1405–1408.

Nuhiyah, N., Febriyanti, L., Alwiyah, S., Nurjanah, W., & Nashar, N. (2025). Introducing Local Wisdom of Banten Traditional Food through Interactive Cooking Game. Yupa: Historical Studies Journal, 9(4), 340–355.

Pangestuti, D. R. (2025). Harnessing Local and Traditional Foods for Nutrition, Health and Functional Food Development: Insight from Global and Indonesian Biodiversity. Amerta Nutrition, 9(2), 388.

Park, D., Park, Y. K., Park, C. Y., Choi, M.-K., & Shin, M.-J. (2020). Development of a comprehensive food literacy measurement tool integrating the food system and sustainability. Nutrients, 12(11), 3300.

Policastro, P., Brown, A. H., & Comollo, E. (2023). Healthy helpers: using culinary lessons to improve children’s culinary literacy and self-efficacy to cook. Frontiers in Public Health, 11, 1156716.

Pratiwi, T. M., Srisayekti, W., Kumalasari, A. D., & Muliadi, R. (2025). Psychometric properties of the Healthy and Unhealthy Eating Behavior Scale (HUEBS) among Indonesian college students based on the Rasch model. Psikoborneo: Jurnal Ilmiah Psikologi, 13(4), 627–639.

Silva, P., Araújo, R., Lopes, F., & Ray, S. (2023). Nutrition and food literacy: framing the challenges to health communication. Nutrients, 15(22), 4708.

Sinai, T., Axelrod, R., Shimony, T., Boaz, M., & Kaufman-Shriqui, V. (2021). Dietary patterns among adolescents are associated with growth, socioeconomic features, and health-related behaviors. Foods, 10(12), 3054.

Sogari, G., Pucci, T., Caputo, V., & Van Loo, E. J. (2023). The theory of planned behaviour and healthy diet: Examining the mediating effect of traditional food. Food Quality and Preference, 104, 104709.

Stival, C., Gallus, S., Lugo, A., Santoro, E., Lisci, V., Gussoni, M. T., Odone, A., Chiavegatti, B., & Group, F. G. (2026). Food Game: A Gamified Interventional Study to Promote Healthy Eating, Lifestyle Behaviours, and Sustainability in Italian High School. Nutrients, 18(3), 482.

Sullivan, A., Parsons, K., Therrien-Genest, M., & Yerxa, K. (2026). Cooking up Knowledge: Empowering High School Students Through a Food Literacy Boot Camp. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 20(2), 244–255.

Wulandari, S., Elvina, W., & Ningrum, N. F. M. (2025). Peningkatan Pengetahuan Siswa SMP Melalui Edukasi Pengolahan Pangan Lokal Sehat di SMP Al Hasanah Bengkulu. Jurnal Pengabdian Magister Pendidikan IPA, 8(3), 1177–1181.

Yang, Y., Liu, M., Lyu, M., & Huang, J. (2026). Does Healthy Cooking Lead to Healthy Choices? Exploring the Impact of a Virtual Reality Cooking Game on Healthy Eating Decisions. Games for Health Journal, 15(2), 114–121.

Zakiyah, F. B., Andini, M. M., & Dewi, L. S. (2024). Analisis Fenomena Budaya Konsumerisme Fastfood Bagi Kalangan Generasi Z. SOSIAL: Jurnal Ilmiah Pendidikan IPS, 2 (2), 96–102.

Downloads

Published

2026-08-31

How to Cite

Nuhiyah, Nashar, Maryuni, Y., Ningtyas, R. L., & Khairina, R. (2026). A Cooking Simulation Game for Local Traditional Foods to Enhance Adolescent Food Literacy and Healthy Eating Habits. JTP - Jurnal Teknologi Pendidikan, 28(2), 826–837. https://doi.org/10.21009/jtp.v28i2.71426