Pre- and Post-restriction Chocolate Candy Consumption
December 11, 2023 updated by: Richard Mattes, Purdue University
Effect of Three-Week Chocolate Candy Restriction on Pre- and Post-restriction Chocolate Candy Consumption in Healthy Adults
Craving differs from hunger because it occurs even when a person is in a satiated state and in the absence of an energy deficit. Craving is usually triggered by specific foods and may be attributable to certain sensory properties of foods. Foods that are craved are often regarded as less healthy choices, and are higher in energy content. Chocolate is one of the most commonly reported foods craved by people in this country. Together, craving for chocolate has been suggested to be a possible cause of weight gain and access to chocolate therefore needs to be restricted.
However, it remains unknown if restriction may induce maladaptive eating behaviors of chocolate cravers. The anticipation of going on a diet has been shown to cause restrained and disinhibited eaters to react by consuming more chocolate. In this study, we will examine if this response is also found in chocolate cravers when they are asked to undergo three weeks of chocolate restriction. This study will also examine chocolate cravers' response after the chocolate restriction is lifted. We hypothesize that chocolate consumption of cravers will increase both before and after chocolate restriction is imposed. We also hypothesize that chocolate craving is specific to the food rather than its sweet taste, and that chocolate cravers are less willing to substitute chocolate for salty snacks, natural snacks, and sweet non-chocolate snacks during the restriction.
Study Overview
Status
Completed
Intervention / Treatment
Study Type
Interventional
Enrollment (Actual)
50
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
-
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Indiana
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West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, 47906
- Purdue University
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-
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
18 years to 60 years (Adult)
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Yes
Description
Inclusion Criteria:
Sixty adult participants (age 18-60 years) who are regular chocolate candy eaters (> 4 times/week, at least 1 serving each time) are needed to complete this study. Additional eligible criteria include:
- Subjects high and low in restraint/disinhibition based on TFEQ
- BMI between 18-35
- American born, or have lived in United States for majority of life, as different cultures have been shown to have lower chocolate preferences and consumption.
- Snack on a regular basis
- No allergies to test foods
- Not taking medications that affect appetite or metabolism
- Willing to comply to study protocol and to eat test meals
- Consume chocolate, or chocolate candies more than 4 times per week
Exclusion Criteria:
- If a participant does not fit the above requirements, they will be excluded from participating in the study.
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 |
Intervention / Treatment |
|---|---|
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Other: Chocolate pre-restriction
|
Individuals recieve a different snack for every week of the study.
This is viewed as 4 phases.
Phase 1 measures of habitual chocolate candy consumption (1 week), Phase 2 assesses participants' chocolate consumption while anticipating an oncoming chocolate candy restriction (1 week), Phase 3 is the total chocolate candy restriction period, but participants will be given 3 non-chocolate-candy snack substitutes in a random order (1 week per snack type, 3 weeks total), and Phase 4 examines participants' chocolate candy consumption when the 3-week restriction is lifted (1 week).
Other Names:
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|
Other: Chocolate Baseline
|
Individuals recieve a different snack for every week of the study.
This is viewed as 4 phases.
Phase 1 measures of habitual chocolate candy consumption (1 week), Phase 2 assesses participants' chocolate consumption while anticipating an oncoming chocolate candy restriction (1 week), Phase 3 is the total chocolate candy restriction period, but participants will be given 3 non-chocolate-candy snack substitutes in a random order (1 week per snack type, 3 weeks total), and Phase 4 examines participants' chocolate candy consumption when the 3-week restriction is lifted (1 week).
Other Names:
|
|
Other: Chocolate post-restriction
|
Individuals recieve a different snack for every week of the study.
This is viewed as 4 phases.
Phase 1 measures of habitual chocolate candy consumption (1 week), Phase 2 assesses participants' chocolate consumption while anticipating an oncoming chocolate candy restriction (1 week), Phase 3 is the total chocolate candy restriction period, but participants will be given 3 non-chocolate-candy snack substitutes in a random order (1 week per snack type, 3 weeks total), and Phase 4 examines participants' chocolate candy consumption when the 3-week restriction is lifted (1 week).
Other Names:
|
|
Other: Salty Snacks
|
Individuals recieve a different snack for every week of the study.
This is viewed as 4 phases.
Phase 1 measures of habitual chocolate candy consumption (1 week), Phase 2 assesses participants' chocolate consumption while anticipating an oncoming chocolate candy restriction (1 week), Phase 3 is the total chocolate candy restriction period, but participants will be given 3 non-chocolate-candy snack substitutes in a random order (1 week per snack type, 3 weeks total), and Phase 4 examines participants' chocolate candy consumption when the 3-week restriction is lifted (1 week).
Other Names:
|
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Other: Sweet Non-Chocolate Snacks
|
Individuals recieve a different snack for every week of the study.
This is viewed as 4 phases.
Phase 1 measures of habitual chocolate candy consumption (1 week), Phase 2 assesses participants' chocolate consumption while anticipating an oncoming chocolate candy restriction (1 week), Phase 3 is the total chocolate candy restriction period, but participants will be given 3 non-chocolate-candy snack substitutes in a random order (1 week per snack type, 3 weeks total), and Phase 4 examines participants' chocolate candy consumption when the 3-week restriction is lifted (1 week).
Other Names:
|
|
Other: Dried Fruit
|
Individuals recieve a different snack for every week of the study.
This is viewed as 4 phases.
Phase 1 measures of habitual chocolate candy consumption (1 week), Phase 2 assesses participants' chocolate consumption while anticipating an oncoming chocolate candy restriction (1 week), Phase 3 is the total chocolate candy restriction period, but participants will be given 3 non-chocolate-candy snack substitutes in a random order (1 week per snack type, 3 weeks total), and Phase 4 examines participants' chocolate candy consumption when the 3-week restriction is lifted (1 week).
Other Names:
|
What is the study measuring?
Primary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
|
Intake in kcal
Time Frame: over one week at baseline and another week after chocolate restriction
|
The primary objective of this study is to investigate the anticipatory- (before) and reactive-responses (after) of regular chocolate candy consumers to a three-week total chocolate candy restriction.
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over one week at baseline and another week after chocolate restriction
|
Secondary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
|
Snack and Craving Preference
Time Frame: 6 weeks
|
A secondary objective of this study is to examine if the observed responses before and after chocolate candy restriction can be predicted by participants' personality, ingestive behavior and food craving status.
Providing different snacks to the participants during the restriction period will allow us to determine if craving is specific to specific foods, in the case of this study, chocolate.
Cravings will be measured three times per week for six weeks.
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6 weeks
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Collaborators and Investigators
This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.
Sponsor
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Richard D Mattes, PhD, Purdue University
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
March 1, 2013
Primary Completion (Actual)
May 1, 2014
Study Completion (Actual)
May 1, 2015
Study Registration Dates
First Submitted
November 15, 2013
First Submitted That Met QC Criteria
December 5, 2013
First Posted (Estimated)
December 6, 2013
Study Record Updates
Last Update Posted (Estimated)
December 15, 2023
Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria
December 11, 2023
Last Verified
December 1, 2023
More Information
Terms related to this study
Other Study ID Numbers
- 055-037
- 0911008653 (Registry Identifier: Purdue University)
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