Cooking Skills to Improve Long-Term Weight Loss in Young Adults With Intellectual Disabilities
University of Kansas Medical Center
114 participants
May 19, 2025
INTERVENTIONAL
Conditions
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.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria6
- Diagnosis of mild-to-moderate intellectual disability (ID).
- 18-35 years of age.
- BMI >24.9, Body weight <350lbs.
- 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.
- 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.
- Plan to attend all study required visits over the next 24 mos.
Exclusion Criteria9
- Unable to participate in PA.
- Insulin dependent diabetes as this condition requires medical monitoring beyond the scope of this study.
- Participation in a weight management program involving diet, PA, or pharmacotherapy in the past 6 mos.
- Diagnosis of Prader-Willi Syndrome.
- 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.
- Serious medical risk, e.g., cancer, recent heart attack, stroke, angioplasty as determined by the PCP.
- Unwilling to be randomized.
- Unable to participate in small group, in-person instruction.
- Use of wheelchair or power chair as primary locomotion.
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Interventions
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.
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.
Locations(1)
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NCT06961591