Translating Habituation Research to Interventions for Pediatric Obesity (EAT)

October 1, 2020 updated by: Leonard Epstein, State University of New York at Buffalo
The purpose of this center grant is to translate basic behavioral science on habituation theory into clinical intervention using a vertical hierarchical approach from laboratory studies to field studies to the clinical intervention to improve weight loss outcomes in pediatric obesity treatment.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Habituation is one factor that may be related to excess energy intake. Research has shown that the rate of habituation is inversely related to the amount of food consumed and slower habituation may be a factor that is relevant to obesity, as overweight youth and adults habituate slower and consume more energy than their peers. Habituation is a basic form of learning that is observed in many response systems. We believe that habituation is an important process that mediates food regulation during a meal and across meals. However, there has been no research in children that translates basic research on habituation to food into clinical interventions for pediatric obesity. In the first phase, we will implement a series of laboratory studies to assess the effects of stimulus specificity and variety and the simultaneous reduction of variety for high energy density foods on short (within meal) and long-term (across meal) habituation. The second phase is designed to implement a series of field studies that will extend basic research from the first phase as well as define the optimal interval for reducing variety to facilitate long-term habituation to high energy density foods in the natural environment. The third phase is designed to develop and pilot test a family-based behavioral intervention for children that incorporates findings from phase2 into a clinical intervention.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

94

Phase

  • 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 States
    • New York
      • Buffalo, New York, United States, 14214
        • University at Buffalo, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Behavioral Medicine

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

Ages Eligible for Study

8 years to 12 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Children ages 8-12 years of age
  • At or above 85th BMI percentile
  • Children must eat almost all meals with the exception of school lunch with the family.
  • Overweight parent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Children who do not like the study foods, who are allergic to the study foods or who are on special diets and cannot consume the study foods.
  • Families with children with a co-morbid psychiatric diagnosis or parents who are depressed, have schizophrenia, substance abuse or a history of eating disorders.
  • The parent and child must not have any physical restrictions that would preclude them from making the requisite behavioral changes.
  • Children must be able to read at a 3rd grade reading level and must be able to demonstrate the ability to keep dietary and activity records in a stimulated interview.

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: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Variety Group
Traditional family based weight control treatment program with components to reduce variety of high energy dense foods incorporated into the treatment. Families meet weekly for 12 weeks, then by-weekly for 1 month and 1 monthly session for a total of 15 behavioral intervention sessions.
Behavioral: Variety Group
The intervention will consist of our traditional family based weight control intervention with elements of reducing variety of high energy dense foods for the variety group.
Behavioral: Nutrition Education Control
The intervention will consist of our traditional family based weight control intervention.
Experimental: Nutrition Education Control
Traditional family based weight control treatment program, without components from habituation theory incorporated into the treatment. Families meet weekly for 12 weeks, then by-weekly for 1 month and 1 monthly session for a total of 15 behavioral intervention sessions.
Behavioral: Nutrition Education Control
The intervention will consist of our traditional family based weight control intervention.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change of Child Body Composition
Time Frame: Baseline to 6 months
Child percent overweight difference from baseline to 6 month. The formula used to derive weight loss percentage was weight lost at 6 months divided by starting weight, multiplied by 100.
Baseline to 6 months
Change Parent Body Composition
Time Frame: Baseline to 6 months
Parent Body Mass Index (kg/m^2) difference from baseline to 6 months
Baseline to 6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Dietary Intake of Calories
Time Frame: Baseline to 6 months
Energy intake was calculated for parents and children as the different from baseline to six months of calories consumed. The first pilot used the calories generated from the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) report however the second pilot used calories from 24 hour recalls based on the Center of Disease Control data base or food labels.
Baseline to 6 months
Change in Parent Delay Discounting
Time Frame: Baseline to 6 months
Kirby, small, medium and large reinforcers. The Kirby monetary choice questionnaire will be used to measure implusivity in parents and children. Participants are presented with a set of 27 choices between smaller immediate rewards and larger delayed rewards. An estimate of the participant's discounting rate parameter can be made from the pattern of choices and participants who discount the value of the delayed rewards more steeply are said to be more impulsive as measured in K-values. (0.25 impulsive to 0.00016 not impulsive)
Baseline to 6 months
Change in Child Delay Discounting
Time Frame: Baseline to 6 months
Kirby, small, medium and large reinforcers. The Kirby monetary choice questionnaire will be used to measure impulsivity in parents and children. Participants are presented with a set of 27 choices between smaller immediate rewards and larger delayed rewards. An estimate of the participant's discounting rate parameter can be made from the pattern of choices and participants who discount the value of the delayed rewards more steeply are said to be more impulsive as measured in higher K-values (0.25 vs 0.00016).
Baseline to 6 months
Changes in Variety Measures
Time Frame: Baseline to 6 months
Variety of high energy density foods (RED) and low energy density foods (GREEN) were calculated from the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) for pilot 1 and 24 hour recalls (24-HR) for pilot 2. High energy dense food or Red foods are low in nutrient density. Most Red foods come from the Fats, Oils and Sweets groups and are to be used sparingly. Modified foods from the Fats, Oils, and Sweets group are still considered to be Red foods, even if their energy level is low. These foods contribute little nutrients to the diet and compete for consumption of healthier foods. Green foods are high in nutrient density and low in energy density. Most Green foods come from the fruit and vegetable groups. Serving sizes were based off the serving sizes used in United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) common serving sizes. Coding was based on the serving sizes of the specified food items and used to calculate the changes from baseline to six months.
Baseline to 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

State University of New York at Buffalo

Collaborators

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Leonard H. Epstein, Ph.D., SUNY Buffalo

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

October 1, 2009

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2014

Study Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 23, 2010

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 23, 2010

First Posted (Estimate)

September 24, 2010

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

October 6, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 1, 2020

Last Verified

October 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 1083316-1-52205
  • 5U01DK088380 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be shared under the specifics of this protocol. Outcome data will be published.

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.

Clinical Trials on Pediatric Obesity

Clinical Trials on Variety Group

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Cambodia

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe