Recruiting

Nutrition Intervention

Sponsor:

VA Office of Research and Development

Code:

NCT06726083

Conditions

Impaired Mobility

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 65+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Nutrition Intervention

Contact Control

Study Details

Brief summary:

Compared to non-Veterans, Veterans demonstrate an increased risk for obesity and multimorbidity. Thus, interventions to improve overall health are warranted in this population. Healthy diets that include fruits and vegetables are linked to a reduced risk of chronic disease including mobility disability, and are associated with higher muscle mass, strength and physical performance potentially slowing further disability progression later in life. The investigators will determine if a three-month virtual group nutrition intervention paired with produce delivery and virtual teaching kitchen cooking demonstrations tailored for older Veterans with impaired mobility will improve diet, health-related quality of life and muscle strength.

Conditions

Impaired Mobility

Study ID

NCT06726083

Start date

Mar 31, 2026

Status verified date

Apr, 2026

Completion date

Mar 31, 2030

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Mar 31, 2030

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 65+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Veterans >65 years with reduced gait speed (gait speed <1.0 m/s) or elevated four square step test
  • use of an assistive device who also indicate that they would like to improve their eating habits, defined by response of <3 on a scale of 1 to 5 to the question, 'Do you consider your eating habits to be healthy'

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Uncontrolled diabetes mellitus (HbA1c >10) or Current renal replacement therapy (e.g. dialysis)
  • Other medical condition precluding patient participation in this study as per medical judgment of study team
  • dementia as self-reported or found on medical record review
  • currently participating in a diet or weight loss intervention
  • Volatile behavior issues or unable to work successfully in a group environment/setting

Study Design

Enrollment

180 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Nutrition Intervention

Weekly virtual live group sessions led by a trained study team member will be held twice weekly for 1 hour/week over 12 weeks using a HIPAA compliant online platform. The first class of each week will include the teaching kitchen cooking demonstration (\~30 min) and the remainder of the class will focus on dietary education. The second class each week will provide an opportunity for group discussion to have Veterans share to their peers about how they used the weekly produce

active comparator: Contact Control

Weekly virtual live group health education sessions led by staff will be held for two hours/week over 12 weeks. We will enroll up to 15 participants into each virtual class cohort and run multiple different group sessions for a total sample size of 90 participants. The content follows the LIFE study structured successful aging health education curriculum80,81 which was designed to increase self-efficacy and empower older Veterans to take control of their own healthcare. Topics focus on a broad range of healthy aging, such as importance of sleep, safe travel, goal setting, self-care, and common comorbidities

Interventions

Nutrition Intervention

Weekly virtual live group sessions led by a trained study team member will be held twice weekly for 1 hour/week over 12 weeks using a HIPAA compliant online platform. The first class of each week will include the teaching kitchen cooking demonstration (\~30 min) and the remainder of the class will focus on dietary education. The second class each week will provide an opportunity for group discussion to have Veterans share to their peers about how they used the weekly produce

Contact Control

Weekly virtual live group health education sessions led by staff will be held for two hours/week over 12 weeks. We will enroll up to 15 participants into each virtual class cohort and run multiple different group sessions for a total sample size of 90 participants. The content follows the LIFE study structured successful aging health education curriculum80,81 which was designed to increase self-efficacy and empower older Veterans to take control of their own healthcare. Topics focus on a broad range of healthy aging, such as importance of sleep, safe travel, goal setting, self-care, and common comorbidities

Primary outcome measure

  • Diet quality [ Time Frame: 3 month and 6 month compared to baseline ]
  • Social Isolation [ Time Frame: 3 month and 6 month compared to baseline ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Jeffrey P Beans, BS

(410) 605-7000jeffrey.beans@va.gov

Elizabeth A Parker, PhD RD

(410) 605-7000elizabeth.parker2@va.gov

Locations

Baltimore VA Medical Center VA Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, MD

Recruiting

Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21201

Contacts

Jeffrey P Beans, BS

410-605-7000jeffrey.beans@va.gov

Principal Investigator:

Elizabeth A Parker, PhD RD

More Information

Sponsor

VA Office of Research and Development

Last update posted

Apr 7, 2026

Last verified

Apr, 2026

Keywords

  • diet quality

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by VA Office of Research and Development on 2026-04-07.