Effect of the Emory Healthy Kitchen Collaborative on Employee Health Habits and Body Weight: A 12-Month Workplace Wellness Trial

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 16; no. 4; p. 517
• Main Authors: Bergquist, Sharon H, Wang, Danyang, Fall, Rokhaya, Bonnet, Jonathan P, Morgan, Krystyna R, Munroe, Dominique, Moore, Miranda A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.02.2024; MDPI
• Subjects: Analysis; Body mass index; Body Weight; Chronic illnesses; culinary medicine; Employees; Exercise; Food habits; Habits; Health aspects; Health behavior; health behaviors; Health care expenditures; Health Promotion; Health Status; Humans; Nutrition; Occupational Health; Physical fitness; Quality of Life; teaching kitchen; Wellness programs; Workplace; worksite wellness; United States > US; nutrition; worksite wellness; culinary medicine; health behaviors; teaching kitchen
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu16040517

Teaching kitchens are being used to facilitate lifestyle changes with a focus on culinary and nutrition programs to improve health behaviors. Less is known regarding their use as a worksite wellness program and their influence on employees' quality of life, body weight, and adoption of healthy behaviors. We evaluated changes in self-reported healthy behaviors, overall health, and weight during a one-year multidisciplinary teaching kitchen program. Thirty-eight benefits-eligible employees were recruited, screened based on a priori eligibility criteria that prioritized elevated body mass index (BMI), co-morbid conditions, and high levels of motivation to make lifestyle changes, and consented to participate in The Emory Healthy Kitchen Collaborative. This 12-month program included a 10-week didactic and experiential curriculum followed by continued support and access to health coaching implemented in an academic health system university hospital workplace between 2019 and 2020. Comparative statistics, paired -test, Mcnemar's tests, and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to assess changes at four time points. Participants improved diet quality ( ≤ 0.0001), increased confidence in tasting new foods ( = 0.03), and increased mindful eating habits ( = 0.00002). Significant changes were seen in physical activity levels; aerobic activities ( = 0.007), strength resistance activities ( = 0.02), and participation in yoga ( = 0.002). Most participants weighed within 5 lbs. of their starting weight at 3 months ( = 0.57). A teaching kitchen intervention is an innovative model for improving employee health behaviors and general health self-perception.