Super Chef - an Online Program Promoting the Mediterranean Dietary Pattern to Lower Income Families

NCT ID: NCT05863559

Last Updated: 2025-07-20

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 88 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2022-09-30
• Study Completion Date: 2026-09-30

Brief Summary

Given the limited effectiveness of single food group-targeted interventions to enhance child nutrition, a key component of current and future health, innovative approaches are needed. Healthy dietary patterns are emerging as an important intervention target, and the Mediterranean Dietary pattern has been particularly effective at reducing cardiovascular disease risk factors, a leading cause of death in the US. Since parents are the gatekeepers of the home food environment and influence child intake through food-related parenting practices, children enjoy cooking with parents, and home food preparation is associated with more healthful dietary intake. Therefore, the investigators propose to develop and assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of an online cooking intervention for parent-child dyads living in low-income households that promotes the Mediterranean dietary pattern and healthful food-related parenting practices.

Detailed Description

Few interventions targeting single food groups have demonstrated long-term health success. The Mediterranean Diet dietary pattern has been associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), a leading cause of death in the US. Dietary behaviors established in childhood track into adulthood, suggesting that healthful dietary behaviors should be established during childhood. Children living in low-income households are at greater risk of CVD and generally have less healthful diets, indicating a need for interventions promoting more healthful dietary practices. Parents are the gatekeepers of the home food environment and influence children's dietary behaviors through parenting practices around food (i.e., modeling of eating behaviors, home availability).

Foods prepared and eaten at home have been associated with better diet quality. Cooking skills have been associated with home meal preparation, and children enjoy cooking with parents. Encouraging parents to involve children in home food preparation and using healthful food parenting practices may be an effective way to help children adopt a healthful dietary pattern. However, to promote behavior change, interventions should be convenient, enjoyable, and personally relevant. Since Internet use and access are prevalent, including among families with lower incomes, the proposed research will build on previous research with parent-child dyads from low-income households to develop an online cooking education intervention that promotes the Mediterranean dietary pattern and healthful food parenting practices. Once developed, the investigators will assess its feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy with 44 parent-child dyads. The results of this study have the potential to enhance child cardiovascular health and inform the design of digital interventions promoting sustainable dietary behaviors in at-risk children.

Conditions

Feasibility; Diet, Healthy

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Treatment

After completing baseline data collection, families randomized to the intervention group will receive the 4-session prototype over a period of up to 6 weeks. This will allow for illness, family vacations, school holidays, and scheduling conflicts. After completing session 4, the family will proceed to post assessment. The investigators have successfully used this approach in previous interventions. It is anticipated each session will take \~1.5 hrs to complete (online phase - \~30 minutes; home phase - \~1 hr). The parent and child will each be assigned a password with which to login to the online phase. Parents and children will be asked to keep their password private. Each will need to login at the same time to view each new online session. The session can be viewed by parent or child separately or together after the initial viewing.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Super Chef: Family Fun in the Kitchen!

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Two-phase intervention: in the online phase, a professional chef will demonstrate cooking strategies to help families modify existing recipes to be consistent with the Mediterranean Dietary pattern. Effective food parenting practices will also be integrated into the intervention. The intervention is guided by theory - Family Systems, Social Cognitive, and Self Determination - and gamification techniques. At the end of the online phase, dyads will set a goal to use the cooking strategy and make a plan to facilitate goal attainment. In the home phase, the dyad will work together to use the plan to meet the goal. Dyads can also participate in bonus activities. Prior to viewing the next session, dyads will report whether the goal was attained and any bonus activities completed. Collectively, this will determine level of Super Chef status the family achieves at the end of the program (Session 4).

Wait-list control

Families randomized to this group will receive the intervention after the dyad completes both baseline and post intervention data collection.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Super Chef: Family Fun in the Kitchen!

Two-phase intervention: in the online phase, a professional chef will demonstrate cooking strategies to help families modify existing recipes to be consistent with the Mediterranean Dietary pattern. Effective food parenting practices will also be integrated into the intervention. The intervention is guided by theory - Family Systems, Social Cognitive, and Self Determination - and gamification techniques. At the end of the online phase, dyads will set a goal to use the cooking strategy and make a plan to facilitate goal attainment. In the home phase, the dyad will work together to use the plan to meet the goal. Dyads can also participate in bonus activities. Prior to viewing the next session, dyads will report whether the goal was attained and any bonus activities completed. Collectively, this will determine level of Super Chef status the family achieves at the end of the program (Session 4).

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• a 10-12 years old child and a parent/caregiver
• family qualifies for free or reduced price meals at school
• reliable internet access
• resident of Texas
• fluent in English

Exclusion Criteria

• major auditory or vision impairment
• lack of binocular vision
• history of seizure disorder
• claustrophobia
• vertigo
• psychiatric conditions (e.g., paranoia, manic depressive psychosis)
• prior dizziness or motion sickness when using virtual reality
• currently being treated with medications or medical condition that impacts dietary intake (e.g., cancer, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) or ability to participate in data collection (e.g., intellectual impairments)
• physician advice to modify diet for a current or ongoing health or medical condition
• eligible but child birth sex stratum (male, female) filled
• another parent or sibling participated in program development

• Minimum Eligible Age: 10 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 65 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

University of Pittsburgh

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Baylor College of Medicine

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Deborah Thompson

Professor of Pediatrics

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Deborah Thompson, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

USDA/ARS CNRC, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE

Locations

Baylor College of Medicine

Houston, Texas, United States

Countries

United States

Other Identifiers

H-51143

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id