Monitoring Eating Across Locations (MEAL) - Timing, Intake, and Mealtime Evaluation (TIME)

Penn State University100 enrolled

Overview

Increased availability of high-energy dense foods has contributed to a pediatric obesity epidemic, with 23% of United States children currently presenting with the disease. How children eat contributes to both overconsumption and greater adiposity. However, it is unclear if laboratory measures of children's eating style generalize to the home environment, where children consume two thirds of their total energy. The study will 1) test if child eating styles observed in the lab generalize to more ecologically valid home environments and 2) identify aspects of home food environment that amplify obesogenic eating behaviors. We will assess laboratory and home eating styles (e.g., bite rate) in 100 prepubertal 6-9-year-old children to constrain variability in energy requirements. Children will be video-recorded while consuming identical study-provided meals at home and in the laboratory (counter-balanced order) in addition to a 'typical' meal at home. To study how adiposity relates to "obesogenic" styles of eating, gold standard dual x-ray absorptiometry will be used.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

100

Conditions

Pediatric Obesity

Interventions

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 6 YearsMax age: 9 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * children must be between the ages of 6-9 years-old * children are of good health with no learning disabilities (e.g., ADHD, determined by parent report) * children are not on any medications known to impact body weight, taste, food intake, behavior, or blood flow * parents report that children like and are willing to eat study foods Exclusion Criteria: * Children are not within the age requirements (\<6 years old or \> 9 years old) * If children are taking cold or allergy medication, or other medications known to influence cognitive function, taste, appetite, or blood flow. * If children don't speak English. * If children are colorblind. * If children have a learning disability, ADD/ADHD, language delays, autism or other neurological or psychological conditions. * If children have a pre-existing medical condition such as type I or type II diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, Cushing's syndrome, Down's syndrome, severe lactose intolerance, Prader-Willi syndrome, HIV, cancer, renal failure, or cerebral palsy. * If children are allergic to foods or ingredients used in the study. * child received an X-ray in the previous year (to avoid excess radiation exposure due to the DXA scans performed in the research)

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Child body mass index

child height and weight will be measured

Time frame: Day 1

Food intake in grams during a standard meal

Intake in grams from standard meal

Time frame: Day 1 and Day 2 or 3 depending on randomization

Food intake in kcal during a standard meal

Intake in kcal during a standard meal

Time frame: Day 1 and Day 2 or 3 depending on randomization

Video coding of standard meal

A digital recording of the child eating a standard meal will be saved. The study team have developed a behavior coding protocol to measure child meal microstructure (e.g., bites, bite size, meal duration) and have also validated a computational model to assess cumulative intake curves from video coded bite data.

Time frame: Day 1 and Day 2 or 3 depending on randomization

Food intake in grams during a snack buffet when not hungry

Intake in grams during a snack buffet using a standard eating in the absence of hunger paradigm (i.e., non-homeostatic intake)

Time frame: Day 1

Food intake in kcal during a snack buffet when not hungry

Intake in kcal during a snack buffet using a standard eating in the absence of hunger paradigm (i.e., non-homeostatic intake)

Time frame: Day 1

Body Composition

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to assess body composition including fat mass and fat-free mass in children

Time frame: Day 1

Food intake in grams during a Study Meal

Intake in grams from Study Meal

Time frame: Day 2 or 3 depending on randomization and home meal administration

Food intake in kcal during the Study Meal

Intake in kcal during the Study Meal

Time frame: Day 2 or 3 depending on randomization and home meal administration

Video coding of the study meal

A digital recording of the child eating a Study Meal will be saved. The study team have developed a behavior coding protocol to measure child meal microstructure (e.g., bites, bite size, meal duration) and have also validated a computational model to assess cumulative intake curves from video coded bite data.

Time frame: Day 2 or 3 depending on randomization and home meal administration

Video coding of home meals

Digital recordings of the child eating a typical meals at home. The study team have developed a behavior coding protocol to measure child meal microstructure (e.g., bites, bite size, meal duration) and have also validated a computational model to assess cumulative intake curves from video coded bite data.

Time frame: Week 1 and Week 2

Monitoring Eating Across Locations (MEAL) - Timing, Intake, and Mealtime Evaluation (TIME)

Overview

Conditions

Interventions

Eligibility

Locations (1)

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes