Lowering Caloric Density of the Diet

N/AActive Not RecruitingNCT02674971

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville60 enrolled

Overview

For weight loss to occur, energy intake needs to be reduced to incur an energy deficit. One dietary strategy that may facilitate reducing energy intake and enhancing weight loss is consuming a diet low in dietary energy density (ED). The ED of a given food, defined as the ratio of energy of the food to the weight of the food (kcal/g), is largely determined by water content, but is also affected by fat and fiber. Although the 2010 Dietary Guidelines encourage an eating pattern low in energy density (ED) to manage weight, it is currently not known what the best strategy is for reducing ED in the diet. Eating a greater number of foods low in ED or reducing the number of foods high in ED may reduce overall dietary ED. As ED is believed to reduce intake by allowing a greater weight of food relative to total energy consumed assisting with enhancing feelings of fullness, it is anticipated that either increasing consumption of low-ED foods in the diet alone or combining an increase in consumption of low-ED foods with a decrease in consumption of high-ED foods may be the best strategies for reducing overall dietary ED for weight loss.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Obesity Feeding Behavior

Interventions

Common components of interventionBEHAVIORAL

12-week standard lifestyle intervention for obesity, which consists of weekly meetings. Each meeting will last 60 minutes, with participants attending group meetings specific for their condition. In all meetings, participants will be weighed, homework assignments will be verbally reviewed, and a behavioral lesson will be presented. Basic behavioral lessons, will be similar to those that have been successfully used in the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) and Look AHEAD. Topics to be covered in the meetings will focus on the dietary prescriptions and dietary information for each condition, the physical activity goal, energy balance, and behavioral strategies. Each session will conclude with reminding participants of their dietary and physical activity goals, and having participants self-monitor these behaviors every day and implement the behavioral strategies discussed in the session.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 65 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * 1\) age between 18 and 65 years and 2) a body mass index (BMI)7 between 27 and 45 kg/m2. Exclusion Criteria: 1. report a heart condition, chest pain during periods of activity or rest, or loss of consciousness on the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q)8 (medical conditions that could limit exercise for safety reasons will be required to obtain written physician consent before participating in the investigation) 2. report being unable to walk for 2 blocks (1/4 mile) without stopping 3. are currently participating in a weight loss program and/or taking weight loss medication or lost \> 5% of body weight during the past 6 months 4. report major psychiatric diseases or organic brain syndromes 5. have had bariatric surgery or are planning to have bariatric surgery within the next 4 months 6. intend to move outside of the metropolitan area within the time frame of the investigation 7. are pregnant, lactating, \< 6 months post-partum, or plan to become pregnant during the investigation.

Locations (1)

Healthy Eating and Activity Laboratory, University of Tennessee

Knoxville, Tennessee, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Dietary: Energy Intake

Changes in overall dietary intake and changes per eating bout will be assessed by 3 day (2 weekdays and 1 weekend) food records. To determine dietary variables, each food record will be entered into the Nutrition Data System for Research (NDS-R) software developed by the Nutrition Coordinating Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.