Clinical Research Directory

Effects of UPF Warning Labels on Social Media Among Teens and Young Adults

This study aims to evaluate whether Ultra-Processed Food (UPF) warning labels on social media posts improve consumer understanding and influence purchase intentions among teens and young adults. Participants aged 13-29 in the United States will be recruited and randomized into two groups: a control group (no label) and an intervention group (UPF warning). Participants will view social media posts featuring UPFs with or without warning labels and respond to survey questions following each post.

Ta'am Mustadam Intervention to Promote Sustainable Food Choices

The goal of this pilot intervention is to learn if the Ta'am Mustadam program helps young adults make more sustainable food choices. It will also explore how the program affects their food choices, knowledge, intentions, practices, and self-reported behaviors towards sustainable food choices, as well as energy and nutrient intake. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does the Ta'am Mustadam program increase intake of fruits, vegetables, and plant-based foods? * Does it reduce red and processed meat consumption? * Does it change participants' food choice? The minor questions it aims to answer are: * Does it improve participants' knowledge, intentions, practices toward sustainable eating? * Does it change participant's energy and nutrient intake? Participants will: * Take part in a 6-week program, followed by a 4-week follow-up * Receive engaging educational messages \&awareness videos about sustainability * Watch interactive video recipes * Participate in hands-on activities * Receive daily reminders * Complete questionnaires before, right after, and one month after the program Researchers will use the RE-AIM framework to assess how well the program works and whether it can be applied in real-life settings.

Sources and Mechanisms of Energy Compensation

Excess energy, obesity and obesity-related diseases are important global health issues. Although it is known that obesity is an issue of energy balance, the components of energy expenditure seem to be inter-related in complex non-additive ways. The aim of this study is to explore the downstream impacts of exercise on short term changes in both expenditure and energy intake. The primary question the investigators are asking is whether moderate to high intensity exercise influences the basal energy expenditure and/or energy intake/macronutrient preference in young adult males? (A similar study will be performed on females in a different registration). The investigators will use a specially designed feeding table to measure energy intake and macronutrient intake, which is easy to quantify intake compensation. Basal metabolism will be measured by hood indirect calorimetry. The investigators will explore the factors that influence the level of compensation in expenditure and intake, in particular body composition. Participants will be asked to come to the lab after 10 hours fast for body composition tests including Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry(DXA), Magnetic Resonance Image(MRI) and Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis(BIA). They will then be asked (not) to do 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise after an energy-limiting breakfast, during which metabolic rate levels and changes in dietary composition will be recorded by gas exchange and standardized buffet. In addition, participants' subjective hunger and preferences will also be recorded by questionnaires. Venous blood will be collected to measure metabolic and hormone factors, blood glucose will be measured by Continuous Blood Glucose Monitor (CGM).

How Altered Gut-Brain-Axis Influences Food Choices: Part 2 (BrainFood)

Obesity is currently one of the most substantial health burdens. Due to the production of marked and sustained weight loss, bariatric surgery is an increasingly used therapeutic modality to combat obesity and its comorbidities. Surgical rearrangement of the gastrointestinal tract remarkably alters metabolism and hormones acting on neurological and hypothalamic signalling, involved in food decision-making and eating behaviour. In this context, many patients who underwent bariatric surgery self-report changes in appetite, satiety and food preferences. Furthermore, new gut hormone-based (e.g. GLP-1 receptor agonist or GLP-1-RA) pharmacotherapies which mimic the effect of bariatric surgery show impressive efficacy on weight reduction by modulation of food behaviour. However, the mechanisms of such functional changes, and how they relate to food decision-making and food purchase behaviour remain unknown. In Part 2 of the BrainFood-project, the investigators propose a novel approach using digital receipts from loyalty card to unravel the effect of obesity treatments (surgical and non-surgical) on eating and food purchase behaviour in daily life.

Increasing Food Literacy in Preschoolers to Reduce Obesity Risk

The goal of this clinical trial is to examine the effects of a nutrition education program on preschool children's food literacy and food acceptance, and to examine the added influence of a healthy eating curriculum and parent education on children's food knowledge and healthful food choices. The project will be evaluated with 450 children ages 3 to 5 years in center-based childcare programs serving predominantly Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)-eligible families in Pennsylvania. Outcomes for children who receive the added healthy eating curriculum will be compared to children in classrooms that only receive the nutrition education program.

Visceral Adiposity, Vagal Tone and Food Preferences: a Pilot Study

Food preferences are defined by a number of measurable parameters, such as per se food choices, sensitivity of taste and olfactory sensory perceptions, hedonic appreciation of foods ("liking") and motivation to consume them ("wanting"). These food preferences are fundamental to the quality of food intake, and are therefore a key factor influencing weight loss or maintenance of a stable weight. Obesity is also associated with reduced sensory sensitivity to taste and smell, as well as disturbances in the responses of the food reward system. However, the internal, or physiological, mechanisms impacting these food preferences are still poorly understood. To date, several studies seem to point to the role of body composition, in particular visceral adiposity, or adiposity surrounding the digestive organs. Indeed, a high level of visceral adiposity is associated with the onset of numerous cardiometabolic disorders, but also with altered sensory perceptions. This relationship could be mediated by the vagus nerve, which connects the digestive organs to the brain, enabling the perception of internal signals sent by the body, such as feelings of hunger or satiety. Low vagal activity is associated not only with abdominal obesity, but also with reduced sensory sensitivity to taste and smell, and changes in food choices in favor of energy-dense foods (rich in fats and/or sugars). Electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve is now recognized as a possible treatment for morbid obesity in the USA, but the mechanisms leading to the expected weight loss are still debated. Similarly, an increase in vagal tone has been found in patients who have undergone bariatric surgery for the treatment of severe complicated to morbid obesity, in parallel with sensory disturbances. The overall aim of this project is to explore and confirm the relationship between visceral adiposity and various food preference parameters, such as olfactory and gustatory perceptions and reward system responses, involving liking and wanting certain foods and associated behaviors. This project also aims to shed light on the possible mediation of the vagus nerve in this relationship.

Encouraging a Plant Based Diet in an Underserved Urban Population

The investigator's goal is to promote a plant-based diet amongst the underserved urban population of Louisville with the help of educational aids and the provision of affordable resources.