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

NCT ID: NCT06961591

Last Updated: 2025-10-06

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 114 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2025-05-19
• Study Completion Date: 2029-07-01

Brief 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

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Weight Loss Plus Cooking

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Weight Loss Plus Cooking

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

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.

Traditional Weight Loss

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Traditional Weight Loss

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

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.

Interventions

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.

Intervention Type: 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.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Other Intervention Names

eSLD+Chef-ID; eSLD

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

1. Diagnosis of mild-to-moderate intellectual disability (ID).

2. 18-35 years of age.

3. BMI >24.9, Body weight <350lbs.

4. Sufficient functional ability to understand directions, communicate preferences, e.g., foods, wants, and can communicate through spoken language e.g., request more to eat/drink, asks for assistance with food preparation.

5. Living at home with a parent/guardian, or in a supported living environment with a caregiver who assists with food shopping, meal planning, and meal preparation and agrees to serve as a study partner.

6. Plan to attend all study required visits over the next 24 mos.

Exclusion Criteria

1. Unable to participate in PA.

2. Insulin dependent diabetes as this condition requires medical monitoring beyond the scope of this study.

3. Participation in a weight management program involving diet, PA, or pharmacotherapy in the past 6 mos.

4. Diagnosis of Prader-Willi Syndrome.

5. Pregnancy during the previous 6 mos., currently lactating or planned pregnancy in the following 24 mos. Participants who become pregnant will be removed from the study and referred to appropriate agencies for consultation.

6. Serious medical risk, e.g., cancer, recent heart attack, stroke, angioplasty as determined by the PCP.

7. Unwilling to be randomized.

8. Unable to participate in small group, in-person instruction.

9. Use of wheelchair or power chair as primary locomotion.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 35 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

NIH

Sponsor Role: collaborator

University of Kansas Medical Center

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Locations

University of Kansas Medical Center

Kansas City, Kansas, United States

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

United States

Central Contacts

Lauren Ptomey, PhD

Role: CONTACT

lptomey@kumc.edu

913-588-7983

Jessica Danon

Role: CONTACT

jdanon@kumc.edu

785-764-3574

Facility Contacts

Lauren Ptomey, PhD

Role: primary

lptomey@kumc.edu

913-588-7983

Other Identifiers

R01HD116832

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

STUDY 160822

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id