Stress and Sugar Synergy (SSS)

Synergistic Effects of Stress and Sugar Feeding on Metabolism

The main objectives of this study are to test the hypotheses that: 1) consumption of beverages sweetened with sucrose will increase risk factors for cardiovascular disease to a greater extent than a naturally-sweetened fruit juice such as orange juice, and 2) chronic psychological stress may augment the adverse metabolic effects of sugar intake. The study intervention consists of 2-week's consumption of 25% of energy as sugar provided either as a sucrose-sweetened beverage or naturally-sweetened orange juice.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Metabolic Syndrome; Insulin Resistance; Dyslipidemia
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: orange juice; Other: sucrose

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 23
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Sacramento, California, United States, 95655
      • Clinical Research Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 25 years to 40 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Body mass index between 28-35
• Self report of stable body weight during the past six months
• High stress participants: Perceived Stress Scores (PSS) ≥ 24, and the presence of a predefined chronically stressful event as assessed by the Telephone screening questions. (IDS scores are not an inclusion criteria in this group, merely a rule-out for the low stress participants).
• Low stress participants: PSS scores ≤ 8, Inventory for Depressive Symptom (IDS) scores ≤ 14, and the absence of any predefined chronically stressful events as assessed by the telephone screening questions.

Exclusion Criteria:

• glucose intolerance
• Evidence of liver disorder
• Evidence of kidney disorder
• Evidence of thyroid disorder
• Systolic blood pressure consistently over 140mmHg or diastolic blood pressure over 90mmHg
• Triglycerides > 200mg/dl
• LDL-C > 130mg/dl
• Hemoglobin < 8.5 g/dl
• pregnant or lactating women
• Current, prior (within 12 months), or anticipated use of any hypolipidemic or anti-diabetic agents
• Use of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors and anti-hypertensive medications
• Any other condition that, in the opinion of the investigators, would put subject at risk
• Strenuous exerciser
• surgery for weight loss
• Diet exclusions: food allergies, special dietary restrictions, habitual ingest of >2 alcoholic beverages/day

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Other: orange juice; no sugar	Other: orange juice; intervention assigned: 2-week consumption of naturally-sweetened orange juice providing 25% of energy requirement; Other: sucrose; intervention assigned: 2-week consumption of sucrose-sweetened beverage providing 25% of energy requirement
Other: sugar beverage; no sugar	Other: orange juice; intervention assigned: 2-week consumption of naturally-sweetened orange juice providing 25% of energy requirement; Other: sucrose; intervention assigned: 2-week consumption of sucrose-sweetened beverage providing 25% of energy requirement

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
24-hour triglyceride area under the curve	28 serial blood samples are collected over a 24 hour period.	Baseline and 2-week intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Markers of immune cell aging	Baseline and 2-week intervention

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
3 hour oral glucose tolerance test	Baseline and 2-week intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of California, Davis
• Collaborators: University of California, San Francisco; USDA, Western Human Nutrition Research Center
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Peter Havel, D.V.M, University of California, Davis; Study Director: Kimber Stanhope, Ph.D, R.D., University of California, Davis

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 1, 2016
• Study Completion (Actual): December 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 16, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 16, 2014
• First Posted (Estimate): May 20, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 16, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 14, 2019
• Last Verified: January 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: metabolism; lipids; orange juice; fruit juice; sucrose; sugar; immune cell aging
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Glucose Metabolism Disorders; Metabolic Diseases; Hyperinsulinism; Lipid Metabolism Disorders; Metabolic Syndrome; Dyslipidemias; Insulin Resistance
• Other Study ID Numbers: 574149