Cooking Classes as a Family-based Intervention for Weight Reduction: Effects on Dietary Quality and Weight Management in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates)

NCT07675148 | Recruiting DMC

• 1 other identifier: DOH/ADHRTC/2025/1895
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 250
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this quasi-experimental interventional study is to learn if healthy cooking classes for home cooks can improve weight management and dietary quality among Emirati adults with overweight or obesity living in Abu Dhabi. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Does participation in the culinary medicine program reduce body weight over time?
• Does the intervention improve diet quality and increase compliance with healthy home-cooked meals?
• Does the intervention improve health measures such as waist circumference, body fat percentage, blood pressure, and heart rate?
• What are the experiences and satisfaction levels of participating family members and trained home cooks? Participants will:
• Enroll in a 3-month family-based nutrition intervention program
• Receive meals prepared by home cooks trained in culinary medicine through the ICCA program
• Complete assessments before the intervention, during the intervention, and 3 months after completion
• Undergo measurements including weight, waist circumference, body fat percentage, blood pressure, and heart rate
• Complete questionnaires about diet quality, meal habits, and overall program experience

Conditions

Obesity & Overweight; Culinary Medicine

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Weight Status (Body Weight)

  Assessment of participant weight to determine changes associated with the culinary medicine intervention. Weight will be measured using the InBody Dial H30 portable device.

  Baseline (immediately after home cook certification and before intervention), Mid-intervention (6 weeks), and Post-intervention (3 months after intervention start).

Secondary Outcomes (7)

• Waist Circumference

  Baseline, 6 weeks, and 3 months.

• Body Fat Percentage

  Baseline, 6 weeks, and 3 months.

• Blood Pressure

  Baseline, 6 weeks, and 3 months.

• Heart Rate

  Baseline, 6 weeks, and 3 months.

• Compliance with Home-Cooked Meal Consumption

  Every week for 3 months

Other Outcomes (4)

• Handgrip Strength

  Baseline, 6 weeks, and 3 months.

• Body Mass Index (BMI)

  Baseline, 6 weeks, and 3 months.

• Medication Use

  Baseline and Post-intervention (3 months).

Study Arms (1)

Culinary Medicine Intervention Group

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive a household-based culinary medicine intervention. The designated home cook undergoes a 4-week ICCA culinary medicine training program focused on healthy cooking techniques, nutrition education, and chronic disease prevention. Following training, the home cook implements healthy home-prepared meals for participating household members over a 3-month period. Participants receive repeated assessments of weight, anthropometric measures, blood pressure, heart rate, body composition, and diet quality at baseline, mid-intervention (6 weeks), and post-intervention (3 months).

Behavioral: Culinary Medicine Healthy Cooking and Home Meal Implementation Program

Interventions

Culinary Medicine Healthy Cooking and Home Meal Implementation Program BEHAVIORAL

This intervention consists of a 4-week structured culinary medicine training program delivered by ICCA to designated household home cooks. The training includes theoretical nutrition education and practical cooking sessions focused on healthy meal preparation techniques aimed at reducing chronic disease risk. Following completion of training and certification, home cooks implement these techniques over a 3-month period by preparing and providing healthy home-cooked meals for participating household members. The intervention encourages reduced reliance on ultra-processed and restaurant foods and promotes improved dietary quality, with outcomes assessed through repeated measures of anthropometry, body composition, cardiovascular indicators, and dietary intake.

Culinary Medicine Intervention Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 60 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Emirati
• Based in Abu Dhabi
• Home cooked meals prepared by full-time home cooks who are certified in the ICCA Culinary Medicine course (post 4 weeks cooking training)
• Certified home cooks are residing with participant during the training and intervention
• Aged between 18 years and 60 years
• BMI between 28-40 kg/m2
• Participant and cooks being able to provide informed consent

You may not qualify if:

• Body weight exceeding 220 kilograms at the time of recruitment
• Undergoing treatment for serious illnesses (active cancer), planned for surgery, interventional management, and immunomodulation
• Undergone surgery within 3 months prior to study recruitment, including bariatric surgery
• Enrolled in other lifestyle intervention programs

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Institute for Healthier Living Abu Dhabi: lead
• Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Institute for Healthier Living Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

RECRUITING

Related Publications (10)

• Vaishya R, Misra A, Vaish A, Ursino N, D'Ambrosi R. Hand grip strength as a proposed new vital sign of health: a narrative review of evidences. J Health Popul Nutr. 2024 Jan 9;43(1):7. doi: 10.1186/s41043-024-00500-y.

  PMID: 38195493 BACKGROUND

• Global Diet Quality Project: Diet Quality Questionnaire. https://www.dietquality.org/.

  BACKGROUND

• Davidson LE, Wang J, Thornton JC, Kaleem Z, Silva-Palacios F, Pierson RN, Heymsfield SB, Gallagher D. Predicting fat percent by skinfolds in racial groups: Durnin and Womersley revisited. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011 Mar;43(3):542-9. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181ef3f07.

  PMID: 20689462 BACKGROUND

• World Health Organization: Waist circumference and waist-hip ratio: report of a WHO expert consultation. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241501491.

  BACKGROUND

• Hasan B, Thompson WG, Almasri J, Wang Z, Lakis S, Prokop LJ, Hensrud DD, Frie KS, Wirtz MJ, Murad AL, Ewoldt JS, Murad MH. The effect of culinary interventions (cooking classes) on dietary intake and behavioral change: a systematic review and evidence map. BMC Nutr. 2019 May 10;5:29. doi: 10.1186/s40795-019-0293-8. eCollection 2019.

  PMID: 32153942 BACKGROUND

• Alpaugh M, Pope L, Trubek A, Skelly J, Harvey J. Cooking as a Health Behavior: Examining the Role of Cooking Classes in a Weight Loss Intervention. Nutrients. 2020 Nov 28;12(12):3669. doi: 10.3390/nu12123669.

  PMID: 33260523 BACKGROUND

• Lillquist S, Ruiz Barnecett G, Flexman N, Mikati N. Recipes for Health: A Community-Based Nutrition and Culinary Intervention. Cureus. 2022 Dec 8;14(12):e32322. doi: 10.7759/cureus.32322. eCollection 2022 Dec.

  PMID: 36627985 BACKGROUND

• Thomas OW, Reilly JM, Wood NI, Albin J. Culinary Medicine: Needs and Strategies for Incorporating Nutrition into Medical Education in the United States. J Med Educ Curric Dev. 2024 May 5;11:23821205241249379. doi: 10.1177/23821205241249379. eCollection 2024 Jan-Dec.

  PMID: 38711830 BACKGROUND

• Heart and stroke: Risk and prevention. https://www.heartandstroke.ca/heart-disease/risk-and-prevention.

  BACKGROUND

• The National: UAE's healthcare bill for diabetes could soar to $3.4 billion a year, study suggests. https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/2024/03/03/uaes-healthcare-bill-for-diabetes-could-soar-to-34-billion-a-year-study-suggests/.

  BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Obesity; Overweight

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Overnutrition; Nutrition Disorders; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Body Weight; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Central Study Contacts

Erik Koornneef, Ph.D

CONTACT

+971500888594; e.koornneef@ihlad.ae

Yamna Azim

CONTACT

+971509149171; y.azim@ihlad.ae

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 11, 2026
• First Posted: June 30, 2026
• Study Start: October 8, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): September 30, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): October 31, 2026
• Last Updated: July 20, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

AE (1)