Cooking Health-Oriented Meals to Prevent Dementia and Diabetes (CHOMPDD)

June 16, 2026 updated by: Benjamin Katz, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
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 (Seago et al., 2025a, 2025b), that 2) engagement in cooking is linked to healthier eating, reduced UPF consumption, and higher food self-efficacy (Lahne et al., 2017), and 3) that cooking activity itself in midlife is associated with reduced incidence of dementia (Tani et al., 2026). 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.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

40

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

  • Name: Benjamin D Katz, PhD
  • Phone Number: 540-231-9816
  • Email: katzben@vt.edu

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 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 Criteria:

  • Food allergies or conditions requiring a specialized diet that would limit participation

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Experimental Group
For four weeks, participants (n=20) attend an in-person cooking class once per week (1-1.5 hours), followed by an at-home cooking practice session (1 hour), and at-home cognitive training on their smartphones (3 times per week, 10 minutes per session)
Behavioral: Cooking skills training
For four weeks, participants (n=20) attend an in-person cooking class once per week (1-1.5 hours), followed by an at-home cooking practice session (1 hour), and at-home cognitive training on their smartphones (3 times per week, 10 minutes per session)
Active Comparator: Control Group
For four weeks, participants (n=20) receive nutrition educational handouts with recipes or cooking tips for healthy, balanced meals via email.
Behavioral: Cooking skills education
For four weeks, participants (n=20) receive nutrition educational handouts with recipes or cooking tips for healthy, balanced meals via email.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Food agency scale (FAS)
Time Frame: Five minute survey in laboratory at baseline and post-intervention
A survey measure of cooking proficiency
Five minute survey in laboratory at baseline and post-intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

July 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 16, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 16, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

June 22, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 22, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 16, 2026

Last Verified

June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 26-509

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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