Cooking HEalthy and Facilitating Early Childhood Development: CHEF-ED Study
CHEF-ED
Re-establishing Inter-generational Cooking Education and Improving Diet Quality Through an Integrated Parenting and Healthy Cooking Program for Low-income Families With Young Children
3 other identifiers
interventional
300
1 country
1
Brief Summary
This study aims to test a new online program we developed for parents and their preschool children, called CHEF-ED. CHEF-ED focuses on healthy cooking, parental feeding practices, and involving children in home food preparation.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for not_applicable
Started Jun 2025
Typical duration for not_applicable
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
First Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
April 16, 2025
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
April 23, 2025
CompletedStudy Start
First participant enrolled
June 19, 2025
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
August 31, 2027
ExpectedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
August 31, 2027
September 30, 2026
September 1, 2026
2.2 years
April 16, 2025
September 29, 2026
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
Child diet quality
Parent report of child dietary intake using a validated food frequency survey.
From baseline assessment to the post-intervention assessment. The intervention program is 7 weeks.
Secondary Outcomes (4)
Parent diet quality
From baseline assessment to the post-intervention assessment. The intervention program is 7 weeks.
Parent cooking frequency/quality
From baseline assessment to the post-intervention assessment. The intervention program is 7 weeks.
Food parenting practices
From baseline assessment to the post-intervention assessment. The intervention program is 7 weeks.
Knowledge of best feeding practices
From baseline assessment to the post-intervention assessment. The intervention program is 7 weeks.
Other Outcomes (1)
Sample characteristics
From baseline assessment to the post-intervention assessment. The intervention program is 7 weeks.
Study Arms (3)
CHEF-ED + Food Delivery group
EXPERIMENTALParticipants in this arm will receive a one-time delivery of non-perishable basic culinary ingredients and kitchen utensils and access to the CHEF-ED program, which includes weekly online program materials, such as videos, infographics, and recipes sent via text or email over 7 weeks.
Food Delivery Only group
ACTIVE COMPARATORParticipants in this arm receive a one-time delivery of non-perishable basic culinary ingredients and kitchen utensils but will not have access to the CHEF-ED program during the study period.
Control group
NO INTERVENTIONParticipants in this arm will not receive the healthy cooking ingredients delivery nor will they have access to the CHEF-ED program during the study period.
Interventions
CHEF-ED is a 7-week, digital, video-based parental intervention that teaches healthy cooking practices and an optimal way to involve children in home cooking. Each week features a video, infographics, and recipe content. The content is designed to be integrated into the home food environment without major changes to shopping habits. However, some basic culinary ingredients that are featured may not already be part of participating family pantry stocks. To support participants in effectively learning the healthy cooking strategies, participating families are provided a one-time home food delivery of non-perishable basic culinary ingredients and kitchen utensils, such as cooking oil, spices, whole wheat pasta, low sodium soy sauce, bowls.
The Food Delivery Only intervention involves participants receiving a one-time home food delivery of non-perishable basic culinary ingredients and kitchen utensils, such as cooking oil, spices, whole wheat pasta, low sodium soy sauce, bowls.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Parents/caregivers of preschooler children ages 3 to 5 living in the greater Houston area.
- Must have access to the Internet through a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer.
- Should be able to read, write, and communicate in English or Spanish.
You may not qualify if:
- Parents/caregivers and children who have any kind of food allergies, medical conditions, or dietary restrictions that may affect participation in the program.
- Parents/caregivers under the age of 18.
- Parents/caregivers of children with severe developmental delays.
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
- Baylor College of Medicinelead
- M.D. Anderson Cancer Centercollaborator
Study Sites (1)
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas, 77030, United States
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Sheryl O. Hughes, PhD
Baylor College of Medicine
Central Study Contacts
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- NONE
- Purpose
- PREVENTION
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
- PI Title
- Professor
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
April 16, 2025
First Posted
April 23, 2025
Study Start
June 19, 2025
Primary Completion (Estimated)
August 31, 2027
Study Completion (Estimated)
August 31, 2027
Last Updated
September 30, 2026
Record last verified: 2026-09