Teen cooking for health (TECH): nutrition workshops for adolescents living with obesity

Katherine Hawton; Alanna Holt; Alice Mayor; Shelley Easter; Joanna Campbell; Claire Semple; Catherine Bowes; Sumana Chatterjee; Dinesh Giri; Julian Hamilton-Shield

doi:10.1530/endoabs.111.P63

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Endocrine Abstracts (2025) 111 P63 | DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.111.P63

BSPED2025 Poster Presentations Obesity 1 (8 abstracts)

Teen cooking for health (TECH): nutrition workshops for adolescents living with obesity

Katherine Hawton ^1,2 , Alanna Holt ¹ , Alice Mayor ³ , Shelley Easter ¹ , Joanna Campbell ¹ , Claire Semple ¹ , Catherine Bowes ¹ , Sumana Chatterjee ¹ , Dinesh Giri ^1,2 & Julian Hamilton-Shield ^4,1

Author affiliations

¹University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, Bristol, United Kingdom; ²University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom; ³Association for Nutrition, Bristol, United Kingdom; ⁴NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (Diet and Physical Activity Theme), University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom

Obesity in adolescence is associated with high rates of neurodiversity, lower socioeconomic status, and poor health-related quality of life, and as a result engagement with health-related activities for this population may be challenging. We identified few practical cooking sessions locally catering for young people (YP) living with obesity. Therefore, we developed a series of free nutrition workshops called Teen Cooking for Health (TECH) incorporating feedback from YP under the care of our complications of excess weight (CEW) service. 111 YP (≥12 years) from our service were asked to complete questionnaires indicating if they would be interested in nutrition workshops, and what topics and format they would like for the sessions. 27 YP responded with 85% stating they were ‘interested’ in attending, and 15% ‘maybe interested’. Popular choices of topics included snacks (78%), dinner ideas (70%), quick meals (61%), meal planning (52%), lunch ideas (48%), cooking on a budget (48%) and food shopping tips (35%) with a preference for a mix of practical cooking, YP only sessions and ingredients to take home. Three free workshops (six attendees each) have been filled, with each session to comprise of a mix of short talks, practical YP cooking sessions accommodating food and sensory preferences, information sessions for parents and recipes/ingredients to take away. Workshops are led by a nutritionist with expertise in child nutrition, supported by clinicians from the CEW service, with hospital charity funding. Support with transport costs is being provided where needed. The first session had very positive feedback with 100% (5 YP and 5 parents) reporting that they enjoyed the workshop, found it useful and relevant, felt it catered for their needs, and felt comfortable in the group. 90% stated they would ‘definitely’, and 10% ‘maybe’, like to attend similar workshops in the future. YP engaged positively in the group and reported they particularly liked the practical aspects, and parents highlighted the value in having the opportunity to talk with other parents. These TECH workshops have had a positive response and support the future use of group sessions to engage and provide relevant nutrition information for YP living with obesity.