NCT06961591

Cooking Skills to Improve Long-Term Weight Loss in Young Adults With Intellectual Disabilities

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 114 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University of Kansas Medical Center · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 35 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The goal of this study is to see if adding hands-on cooking classes to a weight management program (called Chef-ID) helps young adults with intellectual disabilities lose more weight and keep it off compared to a standard weight loss program. The study will last 24 months and include three phases: 6 months of active support, 12 months of maintenance, and 6 months with no contact. The investigators will look at how much weight participants lose over the first 18 months. Changes in cooking skills, body fat, health markers (like blood pressure and cholesterol), daily living skills, and caregiver stress will be tracked. Finally, factors that might help or prevent weight loss, and how changes in weight and body fat are linked to overall health will be explored. This research will help inform on how to better support healthy lifestyles for people with intellectual disabilities.

Detailed description

This study will compare two different approaches to long-term weight loss in young adults (ages 18-30) with mild-to-moderate intellectual disabilities. One group will follow a traditional weight loss program (called eSLD), while the other will follow the same program plus take part in in-person cooking classes (called eSLD+Chef-ID). A total of 114 participants will be randomly assigned by computer to one of the two groups for a 24-month study, which includes 6 months of active support, 12 months of follow-up, and 6 months with no contact. All participants will follow a simple diet called the "enhanced stoplight diet" and try to get at least 120 minutes of aerobic exercise and 30 minutes of strength training each week. Participants be given an iPad® with pre-recorded exercise videos, a wearable fitness tracker, and will have monthly Zoom check-ins with a health coach for 18 months. Those in the eSLD+Chef-ID group will also attend fun, hands-on cooking classes twice a month during the first 6 months and once a month from months 7-18. Participants in the traditional eSLD group will receive short motivational video messages from their coach instead of cooking classes. Weight will be measured at the beginning, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. Other health measures like cooking skills, body fat, blood pressure, and caregiver stress will also be collected during lab and home visits. The goal is to find out whether learning to cook helps improve long-term weight loss and overall health in this community.

Conditions

• Intellectual Disability
• Overweight and Obesity

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Weight Loss Plus Cooking	Participants in the eSLD+Chef-ID group will follow a healthy eating plan using the enhanced stoplight diet, meet with a health coach once a month on Zoom® using an iPad®, and aim to get 120 minutes of aerobic activity and 30 minutes of strength exercises each week. In addition, they will attend in-person cooking classes-twice a month during the first 6 months and once a month for the next 12 months. In these 60-minute classes, instructors will teach cooking skills, and participants will practice on their own or with a partner, depending on their comfort level. They will learn how to safely use kitchen tools and appliances (like ovens, blenders, knives, and measuring cups) and prepare simple meals or snacks.
BEHAVIORAL	Traditional Weight Loss	Participants in the eSLD group will follow a healthy eating plan using the enhanced stoplight diet, meet once a month with a health coach on Zoom® using an iPad®, and aim to get 120 minutes of aerobic activity and 30 minutes of strength exercises each week. They will also receive short (2-minute) video messages from their coach-twice a month during the first 6 months and once a month after that. These videos will include feedback on their progress, reminders about their goals, and tips to help them stay on track with healthy eating and exercise.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-05-19
• Primary completion: 2028-12-31
• Completion: 2029-07-01
• First posted: 2025-05-08
• Last updated: 2025-10-06

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States