Cook and Count in children and young adults

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  The impact of practical cooking sessions which incorporate carbohydrate counting on glycaemic and behavioural outcomes in children and young people with Type 1 Diabetes

• IRAS ID

  159983

• Contact name

  Adele Taylor

• Contact email

  Adele.Taylor@burtonft.nhs.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  Department of Research and Development

• Research summary

  This study will evaluate the effect of practical and behavioural cook and eat sessions in children and young adults. The study will initially be focused on children and young people aged 11-16 years of age which accounts for around 40% of our cohort of children in the paediatric diabetes service at Queens Hospital. This age group was focussed on because it is around this age we try to empower children to take control of their diabetes and be less reliant on their parents. This is around the time in their lives they are starting to eat out at their friends houses and go out for birthday parties without their parents.
  People with type I diabetes control their blood sugars by matching the amount of carbohydrates eaten to their insulin dose. Nutrition information is available on shop-bought products, and lists are available of the carbohydrate content of common staple foods. However, calculating the amount of carbohydrate in home made foods is challenging, particularly for young people and busy families. This is an important problem because home-cooking is commonly lower in sugar, salt and fat than processed foods, and therefore should be encouraged. This intervention, ‘Cook and Count’ will run once a week for 3 weeks, with each session lasting for 2-3 hours. The sessions will include nutritional education on counting carbohydrates in cooking, alongside practical tips on creating recipes. In order to assess the impact of the sessions on glycaemic control and behavioural changes, biochemical and behavioural outcomes will be assessed pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention and 6 months following the intervention. Blood glucose, HbA1c, 3-day food diaries and validated behavioural questionnaires will be used.

• REC name

  East Midlands - Derby Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  14/EM/1140

• Date of REC Opinion

  13 Oct 2014

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion