The Impact of Culinary Telemedicine Interventions
Unhealthy nutrition and obesity are major public health problems. Although home cooking is related to improved nutrition and health outcomes, the number of people cooking at home has decreased over the last 20 years. A study was conducted by the CHEF Coaching program, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital to understand if a home cooking program which is delivered through videoconference could help adults who are overweight or obese to build their skills and confidence to make nutritious home-cooked meals, to improve their nutrition, weight, and overall health. Jane Barg, co-founder of Cook for Health Coach, worked directly with participants to help them achieve sustainable weight loss.
Participants ranged between the ages of 25-70 and had BMIs of 27.5-35 kg/m2. Study participants were divided into two groups, a control group, and an intervention group. The intervention included 12 weekly sessions with a chef who was also a health coach. Practical cooking skills such as meal planning, food purchasing and storage, and healthy food preparation techniques were taught by the coach. Participants' health outcomes were measured before the intervention, at the completion of the intervention, 3 months after, and 6 months after.
The study showed that telemedicine interventions can contribute to improved health - with participants averaging an approximately 4% reduction in weight - a significant improvement over the control group. Continued research must still be done to understand the depth to which culinary telemedicine interventions can affect health outcomes.
Interested in sitting down with a certified health and wellness coach to discuss how a similar intervention could benefit you? Cook for Health Coach offers an innovative, results-oriented program to help you overcome the barriers to cooking healthy meals at home and achieve better nutrition and health. Schedule a free, 15-minute consultation with Jane of Cook for Health Coach.