This clinical trial compares the effects of soy soft pretzels versus wheat pretzels on inflammatory markers in individuals with obesity. Obesity is a serious public health problem that can lead to chronic inflammation, which is associated with many negative health conditions and some types of cancer. Soy versus wheat pretzels may be processed by the body differently, and the components in these pretzel snacks may be helpful for reducing inflammation. Soy soft pretzels are made with soybeans, which contain many natural chemicals that may be beneficial to human health, such as isoflavones. Existing research has suggested that diets enriched with isoflavones may help reduce inflammation. However, the relationship between soy-rich diets and the immune systems of obese individuals is not well understood. This trial may help researchers determine whether soy soft pretzels are useful for lowering markers of chronic inflammation, compared to wheat pretzels, in individuals with obesity.
PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. Assess alterations in chronic inflammatory markers with soft soy pretzel (SSP) intervention among individuals with obesity. II. Define immune cell populations in obese individuals with SSP intervention. OUTLINE: Patients with a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 and C-reactive protein (CRP) ≥ 0.06 mg/dL are randomized to 1 of 2 arms. Patients with BMI 18.5-24.9 and detectable CRP are assigned to arm III. ARM I: Patients consume 8 SSP bites twice daily (BID) for 14 days (days 1-14) and then begin a two-week washout period (days 15-28). Following the washout period, patients consume wheat pretzel (WP) bites BID for 14 days (days 28-42). Patients also undergo collection of blood and urine samples on study. ARM II: Patients consume 8 WP bites BID for 14 days (days 1-14) and then begin a two-week washout period (days 15-28). Following the washout period, patients consume SSP bites BID for 14 days (days 28-42). Patients also undergo collection of blood and urine samples on study. ARM III: Assigned to Arm I.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
30
Undergo collection of blood and urine samples
Consume SSPs
Consume WPs
Ancillary studies
Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center
Columbus, Ohio, United States
Differences in chronic inflammatory biomarkers
Will be compared between interventions using a repeated measures analysis of variance and between obese and normal body mass index groups. Inflammatory biomarker concentrations will be determined by comparing signal intensity of each well to a generated standard curve and averaged to make a single data point per biomarker per individual. Biomarker concentrations will be transformed to prevent heteroskedasticity. Depending on the underlying distribution of the data, Student's t-test or Mann-Whitney U will be used to compare individual biomarker expression values, using Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. Immunophenotyping will be analyzed using log-transformed cell counts and comparisons of defined populations between groups, with statistical significance corrected for multiple comparisons.
Time frame: Up to 42 days
Differences in percentages of immune cell populations
Will be compared between interventions using a repeated measures analysis of variance and between obese and normal body mass index groups. Immune cell population analyses will be visualized using clustering and t-stochastic neighbor embedding plots.
Time frame: Up to 42 days
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