The Retrain Your Brain for Healthy Eating Study

May 23, 2025 updated by: NYU Langone Health

A Mixed Methods, Single-group, Single-center Feasibility Study of a Food Response Training to Reduce Unhealthy Dietary Intake and Promote Weight Loss in Racially and Ethnically Diverse Patients With Obesity

The aim of this mixed methods, single-group, single-center study will be to examine the feasibility of a food response training (FRT). This study will be conducted in patients with obesity recruited from NYU Langone Health. Measurements will occur at screening, baseline, and 3 months, for a subgroup of participants for we will collect saliva samples for genetic analysis at baseline assessment (ancillary study).

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.

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.
35

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 Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10016
        • NYU Langone Health
      • New York, New York, United States, 10016
        • NYU Clinical & Translational Science Institute Clinical Research Center (CTSI CRC)

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

18 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. ≥18 to 80 years of age
  2. BMI ≥30.0 kg/m2
  3. access to a computer or an iPhone/iPad or be willing to use a study loaner smart phone

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. pregnant or breastfeeding or plan to become pregnant in the next 6 months, or who become pregnant during the study

  2. taking any medication that may impact dietary intake and weight:

    a. Immunosuppressants, steroids, medications for weight loss or to manage blood sugars or a psychiatric condition other than anxiety/depression

  3. enrolled in another intervention that could influence dietary intake
  4. have had bariatric surgery within the past 2 years
  5. unwilling to delay bariatric surgery for the next 6 months
  6. who have gained or loss more than 5.5 kg in the previous 3 months
  7. unable to participate meaningfully in an intervention that involves using software available in English. The reason for this is that the food training apps have not been designed or validated in audio form or in other languages. (e.g., due to uncorrected sight impairment, illiterate, non-English-speaking, dementia)
  8. institutionalized (e.g., in a nursing home or personal care facility, or those who are incarcerated and have limited control over diet), unwilling or inability to provide informed consent.

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: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group 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: Patients with Obesity
NYU Langone Health patients ≥18 to 80 years of age with a BMI ≥30.0 kg/m2
Behavioral: Food Response Training (FRT)
All patients will complete the 12-week FRT intervention consisting of one in-person session (during the baseline visit) and three weekly sessions at home, one delivered via video conference (WebEx) and two self-guided. Food Response Training (FRT) is a computer-based attention bias modification intervention. The intervention will be delivered on a computer or smart device (e.g. iPhone). Patients will use the FoodTrainer application available for Android and iPhone (https://www.exeter.ac.uk/foodt/about/).

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 Intervention Uptake
Time Frame: Baseline (Day 0)
This will be reported as the number of participants who are enrolled and assessed for eligibility.
Baseline (Day 0)
Rate of Intervention Retention
Time Frame: Week 12
This will be reported as the number of 12-week survey completers / total enrolled participants.
Week 12
Health Eating Index (HEI-2015) Score
Time Frame: Week 12
HEI-2015 is a measure of diet quality used to assess how well a set of foods aligns with key recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The total HEI-2015 score for Americans is 59 out of 100; the higher the score, the more the foods align with key recommendations.
Week 12

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 Weight (kg)
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 12
Baseline, Week 12
Change in Blood Pressure (BP)
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 12
Baseline, Week 12
Change in Waist Circumference (cm)
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 12
Baseline, Week 12
Change in Hip Circumference (cm)
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 12
Baseline, Week 12
Change in Neck Circumference (cm)
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 12
Baseline, Week 12
Change in Food Cravings Questionnaire - Trait (FCQ-T) Score
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 12
FCQ-T measures the frequency and intensity of food craving experiences in general. The questionnaire has 39 items and response categories range from 1 = never to 6 = always. There are no inverted items. Responses to all items are summed up for a total score. Thus, higher scores represent more frequent and intense food cravings.
Baseline, Week 12
Change in Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS)
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 12
YFAS is a measure to identify those who are most likely to be exhibiting markers of substance dependence with the consumption of high fat/high sugar foods. The 25 questions are scored with defined cut-offs (0 = question not significantly met, 1 = question criteria met). After computing cut-offs, the questions under each substance dependence criterion are summed. If the score for the criterion is >/= 1, then the criterion has been met and is scored as 1. If the score = 0, then the criteria has not been met. To score the continuous version of the scale, which resembles a symptom count without diagnosis, all of the scores for each criterion are added up. The total score range is 0-7 (0 symptoms to 7 symptoms). The higher the score, the greater the number of symptoms.
Baseline, Week 12

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.
NYU Langone Health

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.
American Heart Association

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: Melanie Jay, MD, MS, NYU Langone Health
  • Principal Investigator: Sandra Wittleder, PhD, NYU Langone Health

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.
November 9, 2022

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.
April 9, 2025

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.
April 9, 2025

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 20, 2022

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.
January 20, 2022

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.
January 24, 2022

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.
May 25, 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.
May 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.
May 1, 2025

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.
  • 21-00889

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data that underlie the results reported in this article, after deidentification (text, tables, figures, and appendices) will be shared upon reasonable request.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Beginning 9 months and ending 36 months following article publication or as required by a condition of awards and agreements supporting the research.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

The investigator who proposed to use the data will have access to the data upon reasonable request. Requests should be directed to Sandra.wittleder@nyulangone.org. To gain access, data requestors will need to sign a data access agreement.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP

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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