541 Effects of culinary-focused nutrition education on psychological health and well-being: An Exploratory analysis of the SPICE UP MyPlate Pilot Study

Objectives/Goals: Although diet quality is known to influence psychological health, this is under-explored in studies designed to improve diet quality. This secondary analysis aims to investigate the effects of culinary-focused nutrition education relative to standard nutrition education on dimensions of psychological health and well-being. Methods/Study Population: This is an exploratory analysis of the SPICE UP MyPlate Pilot Study, a randomized clinical trial investigating the effects of a novel 12-week culinary-focused nutrition education intervention on diet quality relative to standard nutrition education in healthy adults aged 31–59 years. The intervention included eight modules focused on flavorful healthy eating. The control group received a printed MyPlate resource about healthy eating. Psychological health and well-being outcomes included depression and anxiety symptoms, perceived stress, loneliness, and psychological well-being. Linear mixed models will be used for analysis. Results/Anticipated Results: Data collection for the SPICE UP MyPlate Pilot Study is ongoing at the time of this writing and will be completed in December 2025. All baseline visits have been completed, and 55 participants have been randomized. At baseline, the sample is predominately female (76% female; 24% male) and White (91% White; 5% Asian; 4% African American) with a mean age of 46 ± 8 years and a mean BMI of 27.2 ± 6.39 kg/m2. Results of this analysis are anticipated to show the preliminary effectiveness of culinary-focused nutrition education compared to standard nutrition education on 1) depression and anxiety symptoms, 2) perceived stress, 3) loneliness, and 4) psychological well-being. Discussion/Significance of Impact: Poor diet quality and poor psychological health are independent risk factors for leading causes of death. Understanding the effectiveness of culinary-focused nutrition education for improving diet quality and psychological health is important for developing population-level interventions that meaningfully reduce disease risk.