The Effect of a High-fat vs. High-sugar Diet on Liver Fat Accumulation and Metabolism

March 26, 2020 updated by: University of Oxford

The Effect of a High Fat Compared to a High Sugar Diet on Liver Fat Accumulation and Metabolism

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most prevalent liver disease in the world. It is currently unclear why fat starts to accumulate in the liver, although both the amount and type of food consumed have been implicated. The majority of studies that have investigated the effects of dietary fat or sugar on liver fat have fed volunteers excess calories, which are known to increase liver fat. The effect of specific dietary components, when consumed as part of a diet not containing excess calories, on liver fat accumulation remains unclear.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

This research aims to investigate the role excessive consumption of specific macronutrients may play in the development of NAFLD. This will be achieved by subjecting participants to two specific dietary interventions (high-fat, low-carbohydrate and low-fat, high-carbohydrate) in a randomized, crossover research design. Liver fat content, and whole-body and hepatic fasting and postprandial lipid metabolism will be assessed before and after the specific dietary interventions.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
16

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United Kingdom
      • Oxford, United Kingdom, OX3 7LE
        • Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

30 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Participant is willing and able to give informed consent for participation in the study.
  • BMI >25 <35kg/m2
  • No medical condition or relevant drug therapy known to affect liver, lipid or glucose metabolism

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Age <30 or >65 years
  • Body mass index <25 or >35kg/m2
  • A blood haemoglobin <120mg/dL
  • Any metabolic condition or relevant drug therapy
  • People who do not tolerate fructose
  • Smoking
  • History of alcoholism or a greater than recommended alcohol intake
  • Pregnant or nursing mothers
  • Women prescribed any contraceptive agent or device including oral contraceptives, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or who have used these within the last 12 months
  • History of severe claustrophobia
  • Presence of metallic implants, pacemaker
  • Haemorrhagic disorders
  • Anticoagulant treatment

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: High-fat, low-carbohydrate diet
Dietary intervention: Participants will consume a diet that is rich in saturated fat (20% total energy) and low in free sugars for 4 weeks. This diet will include commonly eaten foods such as butter, cheese, and fatty meat products. Total fat intake in this intervention will be 40-45% total energy.
Other: High-fat, low-carbohydrate
Dietary intervention: 4 week
Active Comparator: Low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet
Dietary intervention: Participants will consume a diet that is low in saturated fat (~5% total energy) and rich in free sugars (20% total energy).The diet will include commonly eaten food and drink such as sugar sweetened beverages, confectionery (e.g. fruit gums) and table sugar.
Other: Low-fat, high-carbohydrate
Dietary intervention: 4 week

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in liver fat content
Time Frame: Before, and within 7 days after completion of each dietary intervention
Investigators will measure the change in liver fat content after each of the 4 week intervention diets by magnetic resonance imaging/spectroscopy (MRI/S).
Before, and within 7 days after completion of each dietary intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in hepatic fatty acid partitioning
Time Frame: Within 7 days after completion of each dietary intervention
Investigators will utilise stable isotope tracer methodology to measure the contribution of newly synthesised fatty acids and dietary fatty acids to triglyceride production and oxidation pathways in the liver after each of the 4 week intervention diets.
Within 7 days after completion of each dietary intervention
Change in plasma metabolite concentrations
Time Frame: Before, and within 7 days after completion of each dietary intervention.
Circulating concentrations of glucose, insulin, non-esterified fatty acids, and triglycerides will be measured biochemically using a clinical analyser after each of the 4 week intervention diets.
Before, and within 7 days after completion of each dietary intervention.
Change in whole-body fatty acid oxidation
Time Frame: Within 7 days after completion of each dietary intervention
Investigators will utilise stable isotope tracer methodology to measure whole-body dietary fatty acid oxidation after each of the 4 week intervention diets.
Within 7 days after completion of each dietary intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Oxford

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Leanne Hodson, PhD, University of Oxford

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
December 1, 2016

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 1, 2019

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
March 1, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
January 9, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 4, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
May 9, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 27, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 26, 2020

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • Oxlip-2017-HFD/HSD

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Following completion of the study, all individual data obtained from participants may potentially be shared with other researchers, both here in the United Kingdom and abroad, in appropriate circumstances. If data is to be shared with other researchers, it will be done so under fully anonymised conditions.

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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