Cooking Skills Training to Build Cooking Confidence in Adults
Tests cooking skills classes and home cooking lessons in adults aged 50 to 75.
Plain-language title generated from the registry record
Registry title: Cooking Health-Oriented Meals to Prevent Dementia and Diabetes
Key facts
- Where
- Blacksburg, United StatesSee the site
Could this be for you?
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 50 and 75 years old?
Source: NCT07661368, who can take part
Where in United States
- Virginia TechBlacksburg, United StatesTaking people
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Trial details
- Who runs it
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- Trial code
- NCT07661368
- Record updated
- 16 September 2026
- Original description
Previous research demonstrates that 1) adherence to a DASH dietary pattern and diets low in certain UPFs are linked to lower likelihood of experiencing cognitive impairments in later life, that 2) engagement in cooking is linked to healthier eating, reduced UPF consumption, and higher food self-efficacy, and 3) that cooking activity itself in midlife is associated with reduced incidence of dementia. There may be multiple pathways through which cooking engagement facilitates healthier cognitive aging- including the benefits of healthier meals on cardiometabolic and neural health, but also the role of cooking as a cognitively-engaging activity - one that has been identified as a potential contributor to cognitive reserve during aging. While at least one computerized cognitive training program is based on cooking activities and has demonstrated improvements to untrained EF processes in older adults, no intervention has used actual cooking as a form of cognitive training. Part of the promise of such an intervention is that this sort of activity, while still engaging EF processes in a way that might lead to generalizable improvements, is much closer to real-world instrumental activities of daily living and may reinforce consumption of a brain- and cardiometabolic- health promoting dietary pattern. This pilot study involves a randomized controlled trial of a behavioral change intervention to promote a healthy diet by increasing cooking self-efficacy (agency), and for this study, cooking self-efficacy is the primary focus.Read full original descriptionShow less
Cooking Health-Oriented Meals to Prevent Dementia and Diabetes
Previous research demonstrates that 1) adherence to a DASH dietary pattern and diets low in certain UPFs are linked to lower likelihood of experiencing cognitive impairments in later life, that 2) engagement in cooking is linked to healthier eating, reduced UPF consumption, and higher food self-efficacy, and 3) that cooking activity itself in midlife is associated with reduced incidence of dementia. There may be multiple pathways through which cooking engagement facilitates healthier cognitive aging- including the benefits of healthier meals on cardiometabolic and neural health, but also the role of cooking as a cognitively-engaging activity - one that has been identified as a potential contributor to cognitive reserve during aging. While at least one computerized cognitive training program is based on cooking activities and has demonstrated improvements to untrained EF processes in older adults, no intervention has used actual cooking as a form of cognitive training. Part of the promise of such an intervention is that this sort of activity, while still engaging EF processes in a way that might lead to generalizable improvements, is much closer to real-world instrumental activities of daily living and may reinforce consumption of a brain- and cardiometabolic- health promoting dietary pattern. This pilot study involves a randomized controlled trial of a behavioral change intervention to promote a healthy diet by increasing cooking self-efficacy (agency), and for this study, cooking self-efficacy is the primary focus.
Inclusion: Age: 50 - 75 yrs; Score of 5 or greater on ADA (diabetes) screener; Self-report family history of dementia or AD; Smartphone (iOS or Android); Verbal and written informed consent.
Exclusion: Food allergies or conditions requiring a specialized diet that would limit participation.