Culinary medicine shows promise for weight, fat loss

Culinary medicine (CM) may effectively induce weight and body fat reduction, according to a study.

A team of investigators performed a randomized controlled trial to examine the impact of a CM intervention on body weight among individuals aged 25‒70 years with BMI 27.5–35 kg/m². Intervention participants received dietary counselling and 12 sessions of CM for 30 min each. Controls, on the other hand, received dietary counselling and CM resources.

Finally, the investigators measured body weight, nutrition, and health outcomes among participants at 0, 3, 6, and 12 months. Fifty participants were included in the modified intention-to-treat analysis.

The intervention group, compared with controls, had an average weight loss of ‒3.23 percent at 3 months (net difference [ND], ‒2.52 percent, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], ‒0.48 to ‒4.56; p=0.016), ‒4.2 percent at 6 months (ND, ‒2.98 percent, 95 percent CI, ‒0.36 to ‒5.60; p=0.027), and ‒4.02 percent at 12 months (ND, ‒4.30 percent, 95 percent CI, ‒0.69 to ‒7.92; p=0.021).

Fat mass loss among participants in the intervention group was 1.86 percent at 6 months (ND, 1.96 percent, 95 percent CI, ‒3.82 to 0.11; p=0.039), while their Mediterranean diet score improved by 2 points (ND, 1.62, 95 percent CI, 0.263‒2.968; p=0.020) at 3 months and their calorie intake decreased by 452 cal (ND, ‒390, 95 percent CI, ‒701.1 to ‒78.13; p=0.015) at 6 months.

“Health-related culinary intervention, termed CM, is an innovative evidence-based strategy in the field of nutrition to improve dietary quality and prevent/manage chronic diseases,” the investigators said.