Food Choices in Healthy Weight Women

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville28 enrolled

Overview

This study will examine differences in habituation to foods high in sugar and fat content versus those that are not, in normal weight women.

Participants will complete two experimental sessions, in which habituation to chocolate cake and dried apricots will be measured, with each session measuring habituation rate to one food. Upon arrival to the session, participants will write down what they have consumed and the minutes of physical activity they have engaged in during the previous 24 hours. Participants will rate their feelings of hunger and fullness using a 100mm VAS. They will also rank their liking of the food being used in the session using a 100mm VAS. Participants will be given a peanut butter flavored granola bar, containing 190 kcal, and be instructed to consume all of the bar. Next, participants will complete a computer generated task to measure habituation to a food (chocolate cake or apricots). The computer task will be programmed at a variable interval of 120 ± 42 seconds (VI-120) reinforcement schedule, so that participants will be rewarded one point for the first response made after approximately 120s have passed. The computer task consists of two squares, one that flashes red every time a mouse button is pressed and another square that flashes green when a point is earned. The habituation phase will be 24 minutes, divided into 12, 2-minute trials, during which participants can earn points towards access to 75 kcal portions of the food that is being measured. Participants will receive the food immediately after each point is earned to consume and can continue to play the computer task while eating. Participants will be instructed that when they no longer want to earn access to the food they can go to another table and engage in the activities provided (i.e., reading magazines). After the computer task, participants will rate their feeling of hunger, fullness, and liking of the food. During the computer task the number of consecutive two-minute time blocks before responding ceases, as well as the overall pattern of responding, will be measured.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

SINGLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Addictive Behavior Food Preferences Food Habits Healthy Habituation

Interventions

CAKEOTHER

For the CAKE condition, participants will play a computer task to earn points for cake that they can consume.

APRICOTSOTHER

For the APRICOTS condition, participants will play a computer task to earn points for apricots that they can consume.

Eligibility

Sex: FEMALEMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 35 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * body mass index (BMI) 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m2 * nonsmokers * not allergic to the foods used in the investigation * must like the foods in the investigation (scoring \> 50 mm on a visual analogue scale \[VAS\]) * be willing to consume the foods * not have dietary restrictions * not be a restrained eater (scoring \> 12 on the Three Factor Eating Scale) * not be on medications that influence appetite * not planning to change their diet or physical activity during the time frame of their study participation * not dieting or trying to lose weight. Exclusion Criteria: * BMI outside of the range 18.5-24.9 * smoker * food allergies * does not like the foods used in the study * has dietary restrictions * is a restrained eater * on medications that may influence appetite * planning on changing diet or physical activity during time frame of the study * dieting * trying to lose weight

Locations (1)

Healthy Eating and Activity Laboratory, University of Tennessee

Knoxville, Tennessee, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Grams of consumption of cake

Amount of cake consumed will be measured using the following formula: amount of cake before consumption (first weight) - amount of cake following consumption (second weight).

Time frame: 60 minutes

Grams of consumption of apricots

Amount of apricots consumed will be measured using the following formula: amount of apricots before consumption (first weight) - amount of apricots following consumption (second weight).

Time frame: 60 minutes

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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