Developmental Trajectories of Reinforcer Pathology and Childhood Obesity (TRACK)

November 13, 2025 updated by: Leonard Epstein, State University of New York at Buffalo

Trajectories of Reinforcement, Activity, and Consumption in Kids

The goal of this observational study is to understand how children's food preferences, physical activity, and decision-making change over time and how these behaviors relate to body weight and overall health.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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.

Detailed Description

A cohort sequential design will be used to track 2 cohorts of children aged 8.5-9 years 11 months, and 10.5-11 years 11 months over a 3 year period to understand how the development of food and activity reinforcement and delay discounting could lead to the development of childhood obesity in children aged 9-14.

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.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

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.
250

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
      • Buffalo, New York, United States, 14214
        • Recruiting
        • State University of New York at Buffalo
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Leonard H Epstein, PhD

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

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

Male and female children of varying racial/ethnic backgrounds, SES backgrounds, and varying body compositions

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Male and female children
  • Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) or Hispanic families
  • Children from low SES families (as defined by household education, eligibility for government assistance)
  • Children in overweight/obese category (defined by range in each cohort)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Medical causes for obesity
  • Stature below the 5th percentile
  • Physical activity restrictions
  • Psychopathology
  • Medication use that affects activity or appetite
  • Children that spend less than 65% of their time in participating parent's household
  • BMI percentile criteria
  • Liking of study foods and activities
  • Dietary restrictions and food allergies

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

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Aged 8.5-9
Children that are enrolled when they are 8.5- 9 years, 11 months of age
Aged 10.5-11
Children that are enrolled when they are 10.5-11 years, 11 months age

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
zBMI
Time Frame: 0, 12, 24 and 36 months
Height and weight will be measured to determine zBMI using the CDC extended BMI-for-age growth charts. First, height (m) and weight (kg) will be used to calculate BMI (kg/m^2), then, using the CDC extended BMI-for-age growth charts, a zBMI score will be determined based on the charts.
0, 12, 24 and 36 months
body fat
Time Frame: 0, 12, 24 and 36 months
Body fat (% of body weight) will be measured using the Tanita BF-400 Total Body Analyzer.
0, 12, 24 and 36 months
percent change over the overweight BMI
Time Frame: 0, 12, 24 and 36 months
Height and weight will be measured to calculate changes in overweight status of children. Change in percent overweight from 0, 12, 24, 36 months. First, height and weight will be used to calculate BMI (kg/m^2), then CDC extended growth charts will be used to determine BMI percentile. Percent overweight is calculated as ((childBMI percentile - 85th BMI percentile)/(85th BMI percentile)) x 100. Percent over the age- and sex- specific 85th BMI percentile for children will be used.
0, 12, 24 and 36 months

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.
State University of New York at Buffalo

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: Leonard H Epstein, PhD, SUNY-University at Buffalo

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 6, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
October 1, 2030

Study Completion (Estimated)

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.
October 1, 2030

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).
October 24, 2025

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.
November 13, 2025

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.
November 17, 2025

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.
November 17, 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.
November 13, 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.
November 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.
  • STUDY00008702
  • 1R01DK139258-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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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Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

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