Cooking Classes for Healthy Nutrition

Overseen By Ashleigh Fletcher, BS

Age: 18+

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: Case Western Reserve University

Disqualifiers: Non-English speaking

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 8

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial aims to discover the best methods for teaching cooking and food skills to adults, focusing on reducing stress and food waste while improving diet. Participants will either begin with 9 weeks of cooking classes (the Nourish Intervention) or have 9 weeks without classes before switching. Ideal candidates are adults who can attend in-person classes and want to learn to cook healthier meals. As an unphased study, this trial provides a unique opportunity for participants to enhance their cooking skills and contribute to research that could benefit future educational programs.

Do I need to stop my current medications for the cooking class trial?

The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications.

What prior data suggests that this cooking class intervention is safe?

Research has shown that the Nourish Intervention, which includes cooking classes, is generally safe for participants. In past studies, participants attended several 90-minute cooking classes without any reports of serious problems or safety issues. This indicates that most people handle the classes well. The Nourish Intervention aims to teach cooking skills and improve diet, which are not expected to pose any risks. Based on past experiences with similar classes, joining the study is likely safe. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Researchers are excited about the Cooking Classes for Healthy Nutrition trial because it explores a novel approach to improving nutrition through hands-on learning. Unlike traditional methods that often rely on dietary guidelines or counseling, this trial uses interactive cooking classes to teach practical skills for healthy eating. This hands-on approach could empower individuals to make lasting changes to their diet by enhancing their cooking skills and nutritional knowledge. Researchers hope to find out if this method leads to better long-term dietary habits compared to standard educational interventions.

What evidence suggests that the Nourish Intervention could be effective for improving diet and reducing stress and food waste?

Research shows that cooking classes, such as the Nourish Intervention studied in this trial, can help people eat healthier. Studies have found that these classes make it easier to stick to healthy eating plans, like the DASH diet, which helps lower blood pressure. Participation in cooking programs has been linked to better cooking habits and healthier food choices. Some studies have also shown that these programs help people manage long-term health issues like diabetes. Overall, evidence suggests that learning to cook through structured classes positively affects diet and health. Participants in this trial will experience the Nourish Intervention either before or after a period of no intervention, allowing researchers to assess its impact on dietary habits. ^{2 3 6 7 8}

Who Is on the Research Team?

Melissa Prescott, PhD

Principal Investigator

Case Western Reserve University

Brenna Ellison, PhD

Principal Investigator

Purdue University

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for adults over the age of 18 who are able to attend cooking classes in person. It's designed to explore how teaching cooking and food skills can impact stress levels, reduce food waste, and improve diet.

Inclusion Criteria

I can attend classes in person.

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Nourish Intervention

Participants attend weekly cooking classes focusing on food literacy, food waste reduction, and improvisational cooking skills

8 weeks

8 visits (in-person)

No Intervention

Participants do not receive any intervention during this period

8 weeks

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for changes in food waste volume and other outcomes

2 weeks

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• Nourish Intervention

Trial Overview The study tests the 'Nourish Intervention,' which involves a series of cooking classes. Participants will first experience the intervention and then have a period with no intervention, or vice versa, to compare outcomes.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Nourish Intervention then No Intervention Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Subjects first participate in 9 weeks of weekly cooking classes, then no intervention for 9 weeks.

Group II: No Intervention then Nourish Intervention Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Subjects receive no intervention for 9 weeks, then participate in 9 weeks of weekly cooking classes.

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Case Western Reserve University

Lead Sponsor

Trials

314

Recruited

236,000+

American University

Collaborator

Trials

22

Recruited

5,600+

Purdue University

Collaborator

Trials

239

Recruited

72,200+

Citations

1. withpower.com withpower.com/trial/phase-nutrition-3-2025-0fe34

Nourish Intervention for Nutrition (Nourish_CT Trial) The Nourish Clinical Trial is for healthy adults interested in learning cooking and food skills. The study aims to see if these classes can help improve diet, ...

2. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8556291/

The Nourish Protocol: A digital health randomized ... The primary outcome of the trial is 6-month changes in adherence to the DASH eating pattern, as measured by 24-hour dietary recalls. Discussion. Millions of ...

3. bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-025-21628-4

Process evaluation of Project Daire: a food environment ... The Nourish intervention aimed to influence childhood awareness of food groups, encourage tasting and identification of new foods, improve ...

4. sciencedirect.com sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666149724000288

Examining the long-term effectiveness of a culinary ... The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a culinary nutrition education program at a 3-month follow-up, in terms of children's dietary practices and ...

5. jneb.org jneb.org/article/S1499-4046(24)00527-X/fulltext

Testing of a Culinary Medicine Intervention for Racially ... A brief, 5-session culinary medicine intervention significantly improved healthy eating, cooking behaviors, diabetes self-management, and ...

6. cdn.clinicaltrials.gov cdn.clinicaltrials.gov/large-docs/97/NCT06398197/ICF_000.pdf

Nourish: A Pilot Study and Co-Design NCT Number: ... Nourish Cooking Class: The cooking class consists of eight 90 minute Nourish cooking classes. These cooking classes will take place in the ...

7. aacijournal.biomedcentral.com aacijournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13223-025-00983-2

NOURISH-US: a mixed-methods, randomized crossover study ... During the interviews, participants described spending considerable time and effort finding meal ideas that met their family's dietary needs.

8. sciencedirect.com sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1551714421002755

A digital health randomized controlled trial to promote the ... The intervention will be delivered remotely using data collected through a smartphone app, which contains dietary tracking capability and educational content.