# Development and Pilot Evaluation of a Novel Cooking Skills Intervention to Prevent Diabetes

> **NIH NIH K01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $150,616

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Diabetes effects 12.2% of American adults, disproportionately effects low-income populations, and costs
$245 billion annually. Eating behavior is an important risk factor for type-2 diabetes, and cooking skills can
be a barrier to healthy eating. To date, cooking skills have been understudied and not well understood.
Cooking skills, including the ability to navigate individual, family, and structural barriers to shop, budget,
meal plan, and cook, may be particularly important for low-income individuals who have limited financial
and physical access to healthy pre-prepared food. The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), a widely
disseminated behavioral weight loss program, focuses on nutritional knowledge and prescribes new or
restricted diets that are difficult to sustain, and require more or new cooking skills. However, the DPP
curriculum does not include any cooking skill development. This K01 Mentored Research Scientist
Development award will support the career development of Dr. Julia Wolfson, an Assistant Professor at
the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Through this award, Dr. Wolfson will develop new skills
in nutrition for diabetes prevention, Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR), analysis of video
and photographic data to assess cooking skills and diet quality, and intervention design and evaluation.
Training in these areas will support her career goal of becoming an independent researcher and expert in
the role of cooking skills for improving diet quality and preventing diet-related diseases. The proposed
research will employ CBPR principles (e.g. active community engagement and collaboration) to inform the
design of a novel cooking skills intervention to supplement the DPP. In Aim 1 we will conduct in-depth
study of the cooking practices of 20 low-income adults eligible for the DPP (via in depth interviews, videos
of participants cooking meals, and surveys), to understand facilitators and barriers to cooking at home,
and baseline cooking skills and knowledge among low-income adults at risk for developing type-2
diabetes. These findings will inform the development of DPP Cooks, a new cooking skills intervention to
supplement the DPP, which we will co-develop in Aim 2 using a CBPR approach with our community
partner, the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan. In Aim 3 we will conduct a randomized pilot trial to
test the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of the DPP Cooks intervention compared to
standard DPP with 48 low-income adults with pre-diabetes. The primary outcome of the trial is weight loss.
Secondary outcomes include HbA1c, waist circumference, dietary intake and diet quality (as measured by
the Remote Food Photography Method), cooking confidence, attitudes and behaviors (assessed through
surveys), and the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention (assessed through focus groups). This
study will generate potential modifications to the DPP curriculum and will provide p...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10312188
- **Project number:** 7K01DK119166-02
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Julia A Wolfson
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $150,616
- **Award type:** 7
- **Project period:** 2020-02-01 → 2024-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10312188

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10312188, Development and Pilot Evaluation of a Novel Cooking Skills Intervention to Prevent Diabetes (7K01DK119166-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10312188. Licensed CC0.

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