Cooking as a Health Behavior in College Students

NCT04084028 | Completed Results

• 2 other identifiers: CHRBSS #00000397VT-H02510
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 53
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Students who live off campus at the University of Vermont will be recruited to participate in the study which will begin in Fall 2019 and run through May 2020. The intervention is a randomized-controlled trial where students will be randomized into one of four conditions: 1) Active cooking classes followed by meal kits and recipes, 2) Active cooking classes followed by no further instruction, 3) No cooking classes followed by meal kits and recipes, or 4) No intervention. Assessments will be conducted at baseline and following each phase.

Conditions

Diet, Healthy

Keywords

food agency; cooking

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Diet Quality at Baseline and Change From Baseline

  Difference in diet quality change between groups from baseline, end of phase 1, and end of phase 2. Measured by Healthy Eating Index scores. The HEI includes 13 components that capture recommendations of the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. There are two groupings of components: 1. Adequacy components are encouraged. Higher scores reflect higher intakes. 2. Moderation components should be limited. Higher scores reflect lower intakes. A higher total HEI score reflects higher diet quality as defined by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Components are weighted equally and assigned a score of either 5 or 10. Scores as summed to determine total score. Score range is 0 - 100. Adequacy Components: Total Fruits 5 Whole Fruits 5 Total vegetables 5 Greens and beans 5 Whole grains 10 Dairy 10 Total protein foods 5 Seafood and plant proteins 5 Fatty acids 10 Moderation Components: Refined grains 10 Sodium 10 Added sugars 10 Saturated fats 10

  Baseline, end of phase 1, and end of phase 2, up to 12 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (5)

• Cooking and Food Practices at Baseline and Change From Baseline

  Baseline, end of phase 1, and end of phase 2, up to 12 weeks

• Stress Level at Baseline and Change From Baseline

  Baseline, end of phase 1, and end of phase 2, up to 12 weeks

• Breakfast Cooking Frequency at Baseline and Change From Baseline

  Baseline, end of phase 1, and end of phase 2, up to 12 weeks

• Lunch Cooking Frequency at Baseline and Change From Baseline

  Baseline, end of phase 1, and end of phase 2, up to 12 weeks

• Dinner Cooking Frequency at Baseline and Change From Baseline

  Baseline, end of phase 1, and end of phase 2, up to 12 weeks

Study Arms (4)

Active Cooking +meal kits and recipes

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will attend a weekly 2-hour cooking class to learn how to prepare meals. Participants cook and sample the meal at the end of class and the chef will walk them through a sensory exercise. At the end of each class, participants will be provided with the recipe for the next class and asked to create a timeline for the various steps of preparation. Participants will bring this timeline to class and discuss as a group before preparing the meal. Following 6 weeks of cooking classes, participants will receive 6 weeks of home-delivered meal kits. Following 6 weeks of meal kits, participants will received 6 weeks of recipes. Both the meal kits and recipes will accommodate major dietary needs (vegan, gluten-free, etc.)

Behavioral: Active Cooking Classes; Behavioral: Meal Kits; Behavioral: Recipes

Active cooking only

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants will attend a weekly 2-hour cooking class to learn how to prepare meals. Participants cook and sample the meal at the end of class and the chef will walk them through a sensory exercise. At the end of each class, participants will be provided with the recipe for the next class and asked to create a timeline for the various steps of preparation. Participants will bring this timeline to class and discuss as a group before preparing the meal. Unlike the previous arm, no further instruction will be given once cooking classes end.

Behavioral: Active Cooking Classes

Meal Kits only

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants will receive weekly meal kit deliveries for 6 weeks. Following 6 weeks of meal kit deliveries, students will receive emails at the beginning of each week providing them with 5 healthy recipes.

Behavioral: Meal Kits; Behavioral: Recipes

Control

NO INTERVENTION

Participants will receive no interventions.

Interventions

Active Cooking Classes BEHAVIORAL

6 cooking classes will be held every week for 6 consecutive weeks. The lessons are patterned after Dr. Amy Trubek's cooking pedagogy and will be tailored for those cooking for themselves for the first time. Classes begin with a brief lecture on the day's topic. Students will work in teams of 2 in the foods lab to actively practice skills and cook a meal. Students receive recipes and information sheets that cover pantry supplies, grocery lists, knife skills and cooking equipment. All students attend a 2 hour kitchen intensive demonstration as an orientation.

Active Cooking +meal kits and recipes; Active cooking only

Meal Kits BEHAVIORAL

Students receive 6 weeks of home delivered meal kits. Meal kits include ingredients and detailed instructions for 3 meals, which each serve two people. Students may select meals from a list of 18 options that include vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free options.

Active Cooking +meal kits and recipes; Meal Kits only

Recipes BEHAVIORAL

Students are emailed a set of recipes once a week for 6 weeks. Recipes include options for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Recipe sets include vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options. This intervention was cancelled by COVID-related disruptions and did not take place.

Active Cooking +meal kits and recipes; Meal Kits only

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 25 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Undergraduate students at the University of Vermont living off campus independently (may have roommates but not live with a guardian)
• Ages 18-25
• Cooks dinner at home no more than 3x/week
• Access to a kitchen at home
• Availability during scheduled cooking classes/demonstrations

You may not qualify if:

• Students will be excluded from the study if they do not complete baseline data collection measures prior to the first class meeting.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Vermont: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of Vermont

Burlington, Vermont, 05405, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Cookbooks as Topic

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Cooking; Food Handling; Food Industry; Industry; Technology, Industry, and Agriculture

Limitations and Caveats

The final planned 6-week intervention phase, Recipe Provision, was cancelled due to disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following spring break, the university transitioned to remote instruction and the majority of the study participants moved back home to live with parents or guardians. As the study was designed to measure cooking behaviors and outcomes in a population of students preparing food independently, the study intervention and data collection could not continue.

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Mattie Alpaugh
• Organization: University of Vermont Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences

malpaugh@uvm.edu

8026569526

Study Officials

• Lizzy F Pope, PhD

  University of Vermont

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: No
• Restrictive Agreement: No

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor and DPD Director

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 5, 2019
• First Posted: September 10, 2019
• Study Start: September 1, 2019
• Primary Completion: May 18, 2020
• Study Completion: May 18, 2020
• Last Updated: July 8, 2021
• Results First Posted: July 8, 2021

Record last verified: 2021-06

Locations

US (1)