Food Intake and the Adolescent Brain

N/ACompletedNCT04208256

University of Colorado, Denver63 enrolled

Overview

The brain plays an integral role in how and what people eat. However, the brain's contribution to overeating is not well understood during sensitive developmental periods such as adolescence, when excessive weight gain and obesity prevalence are a significant concern.The proposed study will use functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine how the brain's response to excess energy is related to overeating in adolescents with and without obesity.

Study Type

OBSERVATIONAL

Enrollment

Conditions

Feeding Behavior Brain Adolescent

Interventions

Energy StimulusDIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Energy stimulus (energy surplus v. energy neutral) will be randomly assigned at the first brain imaging visit. At the second brain imaging visit, the participant will receive the alternate stimulus from what they received at the first brain imaging visit.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 13 YearsMax age: 18 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * male or female * 13-18 years-old * resident of Colorado Exclusion Criteria: * weigh less than 88 pounds or have a BMI% rank of \<10% for age and sex; * have a physician's diagnosis of metabolic syndrome or diabetes (Type 1 or 2); * have a physician's diagnosis of anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa; * currently taking anti-psychotic medications (not including anti-depressant or anti- anxiety medications); * have a non-MRI safe device (e.g. pacemaker or defibrillator) or metal in the body (e.g. metal pins, shrapnel); * experience symptoms of claustrophobia when in small or closed-off places; * are pregnant or plan to become pregnant

Locations (1)

University of Colorado

Aurora, Colorado, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Brain function

Brain function will be quantified via the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal in the hypothalamus, insula, anterior cingulate cortex, nucleus accumbens, amygdala, and superior and inferior frontal gyri, and connectivity between these brain regions.

Time frame: brain imaging visit 1 (study visit 1); 30 minutes

Disinhibited eating behavior

Disinhibited eating behavior will be quantified via the kilocalories consumed during the test meal phase of the Eating in the Absence of Hunger laboratory protocol.

Time frame: study visit 2; 1.5 hours

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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