Ketone Supplementation in Eating Disorders

August 28, 2025 updated by: Guido Frank, University of California, San Diego

Starving for Energy - A Pilot Study to Test Ketone Derived Energy in Eating Disorders

This study will investigate the effects of ketone supplementation on eating behavior including drive to binge eat or restrict, mood and anxiety in individuals with anorexia or bulimia nervosa. In addition, the investigators will contrast the effects of active ketone supplementation versus placebo on electroencephalogram (EEG) measurement. All subjects enrolled in the study will undergo EEG on two consecutive days at the beginning of the study, after active ketone supplementation or placebo drink, matched in taste to the ketone drink. Days will be randomized. Thereafter, all subjects will take the ketone supplementation drink for two weeks, twice daily.

Study Overview

Status

Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The goals of the study are:

1) to test the effect of BHB as a nutritional supplement for AN and BN and 2) to test the ingestion of BHB on brain function.

Subjects will complete a battery of self-assessments and a diagnostic assessment in order to determine eligibility and for characterization of behavior to be used in later analyses. After eligibility is confirmed, subjects will complete 2 EEG scans on separate days after ingestion of Ketone supplement drink or placebo and will complete a taste reward task during the EEG scan. Subjects will then complete 2 weeks of daily ketone supplementation and self-assessments.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

40

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
    • California
      • San Diego, California, United States, 92121
        • University of California San Diego

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 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Must currently meet DSM-5 criteria for Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, or OSFED Anorexia or Bulimia Nervosa based on the MINI diagnostic interview
  2. Be medically stable as assessed by a comprehensive medical and behavioral evaluation conducted by a study physician
  3. English as primary spoken language.
  4. Ability to respond to EMA questions up to 6x per day within 60 minutes of receiving the message.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Psychotic illness/other organic brain syndromes, dementia, somatization disorders or conversion disorders
  2. Current substance abuse or dependence in the past 3 months
  3. Physical conditions (e.g., diabetes mellitus, pregnancy) known to influence eating or weight
  4. Medical conditions associated with ketoacidosis: type 1 diabetes mellitus, acute pancreatitis, alcoholic gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, hepatitis or Boerhaave syndrome (esophageal rupture)
  5. History of significant head trauma
  6. Indication of intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder
  7. Known allergy to any of the KenetikR drink components: D-beta-hydroxybutyric acid (D-BHB), Stevia, Monkfruit, Potassium Bicarbonate, Sodium Bicarbonate Potassium Sorbate or Taste Task Solutions: Sucrose, Potassium Chloride, Sodium bicarbonate.

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
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Ketone Supplementation
Subjects will ingest 2 daily doses of Kenetik ketone drink supplementation for 14 days.
Dietary supplement: Kenetik Ketone Drink
BHB supplementation

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Eating Disorders Inventory 3 Drive for Thinness Subscale
Time Frame: Change from baseline to study completion, up to 2 weeks
The Eating Disorders Inventory 3 is a self report assessment that measures core eating disorder symptoms. Subjects will complete this measure at the beginning and end of the study and the investigator will measure the change in scores. The Drive for Thinness Subscale has a range of 0 to 28 where higher scores mean worse outcome.
Change from baseline to study completion, up to 2 weeks
Eating Disorders Inventory 3 (EDI-3) Body Dissatisfaction Subscale
Time Frame: Change from baseline to study completion, up to 2 weeks
The Eating Disorders Inventory 3 is a self report assessment that measures core eating disorder symptoms. Subjects will complete this measure at the beginning and end of the study and the investigator will measure the change in scores. The Drive for Thinness Subscale has a range of 0 to 40 where higher scores mean worse outcome.
Change from baseline to study completion, up to 2 weeks
Weight Change
Time Frame: Change in body mass index from baseline to study completion, up to 2 weeks]
Body Mass Index over time as a measure of food intake from the start to end of the study
Change in body mass index from baseline to study completion, up to 2 weeks]

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of California, San Diego

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Guido Frank, MD, University of California, San Diego

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 (Actual)

October 13, 2022

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 16, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 16, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

August 18, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

September 2, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 28, 2025

Last Verified

August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 804669

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.

Clinical Trials on Anorexia Nervosa

Clinical Trials on Kenetik Ketone Drink

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Zambia

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe