Mechanisms of Obesity and Its Metabolic Complications in Youth

September 23, 2025 updated by: Yale University
The overarching goal of this project is to determine whether the effect of gut microbiota on human metabolism might be mediated by short chain fatty acids (SCFA) and whether the SCFA might modulate lipid metabolism.

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 would be the first study determining the effect of SCFA synthesis on hepatic de novo lipogenesis and to assess whether and how isocaloric dietary changes (namely low carbohydrates) might modify the composition of the gut microbiota and reduce the synthesis of SCFA during adolescence, a sensitive period for the development of obesity.

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.
38

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 Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Connecticut
      • New Haven, Connecticut, United States, 06520
        • Hospital Research Unit

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

15 years to 21 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Good general health,
  • Taking no medication on a chronic basis
  • Age 15 to 21 years,
  • In puberty (girls and boys: Tanner stage III - V)
  • BMI >25th and <85th for lean cohort; BMI >95th for obese cohort
  • Girls who begin menstruating must have a negative pregnancy test during the study.

Exclusion criteria:

  • Baseline creatinine >1.0 mg
  • Food allergies
  • Pregnancy
  • Presence of endocrinopathies (e.g. Cushing syndrome)
  • Significant chronic illness.

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

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.
Experimental: obese carbohydrate diet
Obese adolescents with a body mass index (BMI) >95th percentile.
Dietary supplement: obese carbohydrate diet
The experimental diet will consist of 30% carbohydrates (CHO), 35% protein, and 35% fat. Since the experimental diet is lower in CHO, the fiber and sugar content will be calculated based on total CHO in the same percentage as the control (0.25 g fiber per each kcal of CHO and 18.2% sugar for total CHO).
Active Comparator: lean carbohydrate diet
Lean adolescents with a body mass index (BMI) <85th percentile.
Dietary supplement: lean carbohydrate diet
The control diet composition will follow the American Dietary Guidelines of 55% carbohydrates (CHO), 15% protein, and 30% fat. CHO content will be primarily complex CHO of high quality (14 g fiber/1,000 kcals and <10% of total kcals in the form of sugar).

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
Rate of Appearance of Acetate
Time Frame: Pre lactulose (average values at 2, 2.5, 3 hours) and Post lactulose (average of values at 7, 8, 9 and 10 hours)
Starting at 08:00, we began a 10-h, primed, continuous, peripheral venous infusion of 99% sodium [d3]-acetate with a priming dose of 200 μg · kg-1 · min-1 for 4 min and a continuous infusion rate of 59.5 μg · kg-1 · min-1 for 10 h. After 180 min from the start of the infusion, subjects received 20 g of lactulose per os, dissolved in 30 mL of water.
Pre lactulose (average values at 2, 2.5, 3 hours) and Post lactulose (average of values at 7, 8, 9 and 10 hours)
Percent of Hepatic de Novo Lipogenesis.
Time Frame: Pre lactulose (average values at 2, 2.5, 3 hours) and Post lactulose (average of values at 7, 8, 9 and 10 hours)
The percent of hepatic de novo lipogenesis (DNL) refers to the proportion of fatty acids in the liver that are derived from a de novo synthesis pathway, rather than from dietary sources.
Pre lactulose (average values at 2, 2.5, 3 hours) and Post lactulose (average of values at 7, 8, 9 and 10 hours)
Change in the Rate of Appearance of Acetate
Time Frame: Pre lactulose (average values at 2, 2.5, 3 hours) and Post lactulose (average of values at 7, 8, 9 and 10 hours)
The changes in rate of appearance of acetate (RaAcetate) are measured averaging the basal RaAcetate 9 timepoints (2 and 3 hours) and the post-lactulose RaAcetate (timepoints 7, 8, 9 and 10 hours).
Pre lactulose (average values at 2, 2.5, 3 hours) and Post lactulose (average of values at 7, 8, 9 and 10 hours)

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.
Yale University

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

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: Nicola Santoro, Phd,MD, Yale University

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.
August 18, 2018

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.
June 30, 2024

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.
June 30, 2024

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).
February 19, 2018

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.
February 26, 2018

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.
March 6, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

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.
October 9, 2025

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.
September 23, 2025

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.
September 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

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.
  • 2000022239
  • 1R01DK114504-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

Yes

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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