View clinical trials related to Overweight.
Filter by:Diets all share the same principle: eat less energy than you need. This results in weight loss. However, the weight loss is usually a combination of a loss of body fat and muscle mass. Additionally, one's bones may begin to weaken, albeit very slowly, while on a diet, which could have serious long-term consequences. Thus, the investigators believe that the goal of any weight loss strategy should be to lose body fat and spare muscle. The investigators reasoning is two-fold. 1) Fat is not only stored under the skin, but also in and around the internal organs. When this occurs, the organ itself may not function properly. Losing fat mass is a very good thing from a health standpoint, since fat is not just a storage site for extra energy. Scientists have now shown that 'extra' body fat itself can actually secrete substances and when these substances get into your blood, they cause many problems and may even contribute to the development of diabetes. 2) Sparing muscle as an individual loses weight is very important. Muscle is a very 'metabolically active' tissue and is, by analogy, like the body's furnace. Muscle burns fuel from the food individuals eat and also from stored fuels, like fat. Hence, it's easy to see why you don't want to lose muscle because you'd be losing one of your body's best fat burners. More importantly, muscle is also a big storage site and furnace for blood sugar. In people with diabetes (elevated blood sugar), a big part of the problem is with their muscles - they simply do not take up and store or burn enough sugar. For these reasons, your goal should be to lose fat and preserve muscle while dieting. There are many different diets to choose from (e.g. high protein, low carbohydrate, high fat, high fiber, etc.). A diet that has been shown to be quite successful, however, is one that is higher in protein (but not excessive). Thus, in this study, the investigators are proposing to test whether a higher protein (with dairy) and calcium diet promotes body fat loss and muscle mass retention. The investigators believe that a diet higher in protein (with an emphasis on dairy), but still within accepted healthy ranges, with higher dietary calcium may result in greater loss of body fat and retention of muscle than a diet with a conventional amount of protein and adequate calcium or a conventional amount of protein with little calcium (i.e. low dairy). Based on previous research, the investigators think that people with low calcium intakes to begin with would stand to benefit the most. There is also a good reason to think that the high protein/high calcium diet may result in greater reductions in blood cholesterol and blood sugar, both of which would reduce a person's risk for heart disease and diabetes. The investigators will test this diet in premenopausal women who are overweight or obese. The investigators believe that this group is a good one to target for several reasons. First, women of this age who are overweight or obese are, if they continue to carry this excess weight, are at serious risk for developing chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and possibly cancer at an early age. Second, these women will often begin to gradually consume less dairy because many perceive dairy foods as fattening. Thus, if the investigators proposals are correct the investigators will hopefully be able to equip health professionals with a tried and tested, palatable, dietary strategy in a population segment who, because of their age, would benefit greatly were their disease risk to be reduced.
The purpose of the study is to determine whether using a web-based weight loss website can help overweight individuals lose weight.
This research study is being done: 1) to determine if the MGH Be Fit program helps employees to change their nutrition and exercise habits and lower their risk for chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes and 2) to determine if a maintenance program following the Be Fit 12 week program will help employees to keep the positive health changes.
The primary objective of this trial is to evaluate the influence of consuming a tea catechin containing sports beverage on body fat mass during exercise-induced weight loss among overweight and obese men and women.
The purpose of this research is to increase community awareness about the relationship between physical activity, screen time, and nutrition and how these factors influence healthy weight management. The problem of obesity is at epidemic proportions and has become the most important public health problem confronting the United States today. Of greatest concern is the 300% increase in obesity rates among children and youth over the past twenty years. Childhood obesity is a precursor of adult obesity.
Protein-rich diets appear to show some benefits in promoting weight loss. It is thought that increased intake of leucine may account for some of this effect. This study is designed to assess whether any of the beneficial effects of dietary leucine supplementation observed in mice also apply to humans. Specifically, our team would like to determine whether oral leucine supplementation in overweight/obese humans increases metabolic rate, reduces body weight, improves glucose utilization and/or, reduces circulating fat levels in the blood. We hope that the results obtained from this pilot study will highlight the specific aspects of metabolic improvement associated with increased daily leucine intake. This study will should provide data that can be used to design more definitive trials with regard to dietary leucine supplementation. Hypothesis This pilot study is designed to accomplish the following two goals: 1. to assess whether any of the beneficial effects of dietary leucine supplementation observed in mice also apply in humans. Specifically, we want to determine whether oral leucine supplementation in overweight/obese individuals' increases basal metabolic rate, reduces body weight, improves glucose tolerance and/or insulin sensitivity, and/or reduces circulating Low-density Lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol levels. 2. To provide data that can be used to design more definitive trials with regard to dietary leucine supplementation. We hope that the results obtained from this pilot study will highlight the specific aspects of metabolic improvement associated with increased daily leucine intake. This would in turn lead to more rigorous clinical trials involving larger sample sizes, and with diverse populations of different gender, age, and ethnic groups. Future trials may also be directed to determine minimal doses and durations of leucine supplementation that are capable of achieving clinically significant improvement in the cardio-metabolic risk profile in people.
Overweight in adolescents has nearly tripled in the past two decades and has serious physical and psychosocial consequences, both during adolescence and into adulthood. School nurses have tremendous potential to prevent and treat overweight in this population, as over 95% of adolescents have contact with the school health system each year and school nurses have the credibility and skills to provide guidance regarding weight, diet and physical activity. The goals of the proposed exploratory study are to adapt an innovative, theory-based school nurse-delivered counseling intervention model used effectively for smoking cessation for the treatment of adolescent overweight, and test its feasibility and potential efficacy in reducing BMI, improving diet, increasing physical activity and decreasing sedentary behavior. If the results of this exploratory study prove promising, the efficacy of the intervention will be evaluated in a large scale randomized controlled trial.
This study will examine whether interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) can help reduce excessive weight gain in adolescent girls. It will compare the effectiveness of IPT with a teen health education program in preventing weight gain. Adolescent girls between 12 and 17 years of age who are at risk for becoming overweight adults, by virtue of being above average weight and experiencing episodes of loss of control over eating, may be eligible for this study. Candidates are screened in two visits with the following procedures: Visit 1 - Height and weight measurements. - Interview and questionnaires about the child s general health, social and psychological functioning and eating patterns and behaviors. Visit 2 - Physical examination, blood and urine tests. - DXA scan to measure body fat, muscle and bone mineral content. - Laboratory test meal. The child fills out a rating scale about her level of hunger and is then given a food buffet from which she is instructed to eat as much as she wants. Immediately after eating, the child again completes the hunger rating forms. - Interview about the child s mood and psychological functioning. Participants are assigned at random to either the IPT or teen health education program. All participants have a 1- to 1 1/2-hour individual session with a therapist, followed by 12 weekly group sessions of 1 1/2 hours each in their assigned program. They are assessed at the end of the program with questionnaires and body measurements. They return to the clinic after 6 months for body measurements, blood test, DXA scan, questionnaires, interview and a test meal, and again at 1 year for body measurements, questionnaires and a DXA scan.
Randomised controlled trial of a lifestyle intervention programme for mothers and children aged 1-5 years aimed at prevention of overweight and obesity.
This study will involve secondary data analysis for a study done by Wylie-Rosett et al. in 2001 that evaluated the costs and effects of incremental components of a weight-loss program. Data analysis will involve cross-sectional and predictive analyses and may include: regression analyses to determine predictors of weight loss and cardiovascular risk, correlations between weight reduction strategies and biological indices, and interactions between biomarkers of inflammation and traditional cardiovascular risk factors. This data will also be available for economic modeling.