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

NCT06961591 | Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: STUDY 160822R01HD116832
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 114
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

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.

Conditions

Intellectual Disability; Overweight and Obesity

Keywords

Weight Loss Maintenance; Cooking Skills; Weight loss; Down syndrome

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Weight Loss Between Arms

  Weight will be measured in duplicate on a calibrated scale after an overnight fast during a laboratory visit at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 mos.

  Baseline to 18 months

Secondary Outcomes (12)

• Changes in Weight

  Baseline to 24 months

• Activities of Daily Living

  Baseline to 24 months

• Caregiver Strain

  Baseline to 24 months

• Fat Mass

  Baseline to 18 months

• Fat-free Mass

  Baseline to 18 months

Other Outcomes (2)

• Skin Carotenoid Content

  Baseline to 18 months

• Dietary Intake

  Baseline to 18 months

Study Arms (2)

Weight Loss Plus Cooking

EXPERIMENTAL

Behavioral: Weight Loss Plus Cooking

Traditional Weight Loss

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Behavioral: Traditional Weight Loss

Interventions

Weight Loss Plus Cooking 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.

Also known as: eSLD+Chef-ID

Weight Loss Plus Cooking

Traditional Weight Loss 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.

Also known as: eSLD

Traditional Weight Loss

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 35 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

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

You may not qualify if:

• 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.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Kansas Medical Center: lead
• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of Kansas Medical Center

Kansas City, Kansas, 66160, United States

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Intellectual Disability; Overweight; Obesity; Weight Loss; Down Syndrome

Interventions

Cooking

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Neurologic Manifestations; Nervous System Diseases; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Mental Disorders; Overnutrition; Nutrition Disorders; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Body Weight; Body Weight Changes; Abnormalities, Multiple; Congenital Abnormalities; Congenital, Hereditary, and Neonatal Diseases and Abnormalities; Chromosome Disorders; Genetic Diseases, Inborn

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

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

Central Study Contacts

Lauren Ptomey, PhD

CONTACT

913-588-7983; lptomey@kumc.edu

Jessica Danon

CONTACT

785-764-3574; jdanon@kumc.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 24, 2025
• First Posted: May 8, 2025
• Study Start: May 19, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2029
• Last Updated: October 6, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-10

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)