The Cook and Eat programme: Outcomes of the first five years.

This article describes the outcomes of five years of the face-to-face, group-based carbohydrate counting education programme Cook and Eat, described previously in this journal. Ninety-four attendees aged 16 years or under were compared with ninety-four non-attendees matched for age and diabetes duration. There was no significant difference in HbA1c between attendees and non-attendees, or for those who attended more than one session. Sixty children and young people (63.8%) attended the programme more than once. Children and young people who attended their first session at primary school age tended to have lower HbA1c than those first attending at secondary school age, and were less likely to increase HbA1c over time. Repeated attendance suggests the Cook and Eat groups were perceived as valuable. The authors advocate caution on the over-reliance of HbA1c as the only marker of group value or success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]