View clinical trials related to Eating Behavior.
Filter by:The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the combined effects of sequential meal variety and portion size on food intake at a meal. Additionally, other individual characteristics will be examined for their influence on the effects of simultaneous variety and portion size on meal intake.
As individuals tend to eat a constant weight or volume of food, manipulating physical and energy densities generally results in changes in energy intake without affecting subjective appetite sensations. However, relatively few studies have directly studied the interaction between physical and energy density manipulation. This study will determine the effects of foods that systematically vary in physical and energy density on ad libitum energy intake and subjective appetite ratings. Secondary outcomes will include gastrointestinal discomfort, fatigue and acceptability.
The current project applies an integrative three-prong approach to investigate the potential of the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) agonist bromocriptine to: 1) increase homeostatic satiation signaling, 2) alter neural circuitry to reduce hedonically motivated food intake, and 3) examines a genetic predisposition that may markedly impact the effectiveness of this medication in those at high risk for T2DM.
Reducing food portion size is a potential strategy to reduce energy intake. However, it remains unclear who is most susceptible to the portion size effect (PSE). There are just two studies which have examined the PSE in the context of socioeconomic position (SEP), with mixed findings. In an online trial the PSE on intended consumption of unhealthy snacks was 18-24% larger for participants of lower SEP compared to participants of higher SEP. However, in a recent laboratory study which examined the PSE on total daily energy intake, participants of lower SEP were no more susceptible to the influence of portion size on eating behaviour than participants of higher SEP. Further research is required to elucidate these divergent findings. There is also an absence of evidence examining the moderating role of subjective social status (SSS) - an individual's perceived standing in society - on the PSE. Given evidence that the subjective experience of social class may be associated with health outcomes, the present study examines whether reductions to the portion size reduces daily energy intake, and whether and how SSS (higher vs lower) moderates the PSE. In a crossover experiment, participants will be served all meals in the lab on two separate days, with the portion size of main components at breakfast, lunch and dinner manipulated (i.e. smaller on one day vs larger on the other day). All other foods offered are identical. Food intake from the portion-manipulated breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as all other meal components (non-portion-manipulated sides, dessert, seconds, snacks, etc.) will be measured, to assess total daily energy intake (kcal).
The objective of this study is to provide pilot data on the feasibility and effectiveness of a web-based social networking intervention designed to promote sleep early in infancy and to explore the potential for this approach to promote healthy feeding routines, eating behaviors, and weight outcomes in subsequent larger-scale intervention research. First-time parents will be recruited (n=66) and randomized to an 8-week web-based social networking sleep intervention or general baby care control group with interventions beginning at infant age 8 weeks. Parents will complete online surveys, with research questions including: 1) whether the sleep intervention leads to longer nighttime and total sleep duration and decreased night waking among infants and 2) longer infant sleep bouts and improved parent sleep duration, stress, parenting efficacy, and parenting satisfaction. We will also examine infants' routines, feeding and eating behaviors, and emotion regulation to inform the application of this approach for childhood obesity prevention. The pilot research will provide insights into intervention feasibility, effects on infant sleep, and potential impacts on feeding and eating outcomes, informing our next steps.
In New Brunswick, Canada, only 53% of Kindergarten to Grade 5 students reported eating five or more vegetables and fruits per day in 2016-2017. Low intakes of vegetables and fruits are a marker for poor nutrition, which may impair the growth and cognitive development of children and adolescents and may put them at risk of developing certain non-communicable diseases earlier in life. It has been suggested that increasing children's food literacy may be an effective way of promoting healthier diets, including increasing vegetable and fruit intake among students. Since children spend most of their waking hours at school, this may be a key setting for promoting food literacy and healthy eating behaviors. Previous studies have found that culinary interventions that include taste testing and nutrition education may improve students' food literacy and vegetable and fruit consumption. Therefore, this quasi-experimental study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a school-based culinary program titled "Apprenti en Action" on primary school children's food literacy, breakfast, and vegetable and fruit consumption. Specifically, data were collected among Grade 5 students from ten francophone elementary schools, five of which received the "Apprenti en Action" program and five who did not. The "Apprenti en Action" program consisted of six, one-hour culinary workshops given once a week, at school, during school hours. Data on students' food literacy, breakfast, vegetable, and fruit consumption were collected via online questionnaires before and after the program. In addition to collecting quantitative data, qualitative data were collected from program participants and their parents to assess their perceptions of "Apprenti en Action".
The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the combined effects of simultaneous meal variety and portion size on food intake at a meal. Additionally, other individual characteristics will be examined for their influence on the effects of simultaneous variety and portion size on meal intake.
Emotional eating, or overeating in response to emotions, is problematic because of its link to weight gain, obesity, and psychopathology such as bulimia and binge eating disorder. To date, a vast amount of research has studied the psychological processes that cause individuals to overeat in response to emotions in an effort to develop ways to help individuals reduce their emotional eating. The aim of the current project is to study two psychological processes that can potentially be positively influenced to improve well-being: perceived body boundaries and a person's spatial frame of reference. Particularly, the investigators will examine how perceived body boundaries and spatial frames of reference can be positively influenced through a body scan meditation and thereby improve emotional eating. Perceived body boundaries refers to the continuum along which the self is experienced, from a body-encapsulated entity that is separate from the surrounding world to a more diffuse entity that is more connected with others and the environment. Spatial frames of reference describes the region within one's perception, often based in the body and construed as the self, that may be experienced as egocentric, through a preoccupation with internal events, or as allocentric, with feelings of unity and interdependence with others and the environment. One way for individuals to experience more diffuse body boundaries and allocentric frames of reference is through a body scan meditation. In this practice, individuals are instructed to intentionally shift their attention to various parts of the body and to notice what happens without judging or reacting. Thoughts and emotions are briefly noted if they arise, and attention is shifted back to the body. Recent research has shown that when individuals practice the body scan meditation, individuals are likely to experience greater positive emotions, lower negative emotions, lower ruminations, and higher psychological wellbeing. In addition, research has shown that individuals are able to experience more diffuse perceived body boundaries and more allocentric frames of reference through a body scan meditation. Based on this work, the researchers predict that when emotional eaters practice the body scan meditation, emotional eaters will experience more diffuse body boundaries, more allocentric frames of reference, and lower ruminations, which could in turn reduce their negative affect and food cravings. The researchers will test this hypothesis by asking emotional eaters to complete questionnaires that measure perceived body boundaries, spatial frames of reference, ruminations, negative emotions, and food cravings before and after a body scan meditation. To ensure that any changes in these measures are due to the meditation, the researchers will compare these findings with emotional eaters who complete the same measures before and after a control listening task. The findings of the current study will be used to recommend the body scan meditation to support emotional eaters in regulating their emotions, cravings, and eating behaviors.
Rationale: The world-wide rising obesity rates are a major health problem. Therefore, people should moderate food intake. A lower eating rate will decrease the energy intake. The eating rate of foods can be modified by changing the texture without affecting their acceptability. Harder, chunkier, more viscous, and more voluminous foods will decrease the eating rate and thus energy intake. Bread is a staple food and contributes to a major part of the Dutch diet. By changing the proofing time and by applying vacuum cooling during the baking process, the texture of bread can be modified. The effect of this texture modification on eating rate is not investigated until now. To get an understanding of the relations between food texture and eating rate, modelling based on instrumental measurements is a promising technique as it can give valuable insights without sensorial and laboratorial labour and costs. However, it is not known if such a model can predict the eating rate as well as a model based on sensory measurements. Therefore, this study will investigate whether modelling of sensory or instrumental data predicts the eating rate of bread most accurate and can be applied for the product development of bread with modified eating rate. Objective: The aim of the BOP-study is to compare mathematical models based on sensory or instrumental texture that predict the eating rate of bread and to validate if the models can be applied for the product development of bread with a modified eating rate by changing the proofing time and applying vacuum cooling. Study design: The study consists out of a sensory study, instrumental measurements, and mathematical modelling. The sensory study is a randomised crossover trial. All participants consume all bread samples in a randomized order divided over four sessions. Every session will be video recorded. Study population: Healthy Dutch adults (n=34) between 18-55 years old, and a BMI between 18.5-30 kg/m2 will be included. Intervention: In the sensory study, participants will attend four test sessions during lunch in which sixteen bread samples will be investigated. Ten breads are commercially available and six breads are produced for product development purposes and differ in proofing time and vacuum cooling. In each session, a fixed portion of bread will be consumed by the participants during which the eating rate and sensory properties will be measured. Additionally, participants will chew and expectorate a bite-size piece of bread in replicate to determine the saliva addition to the bolus at time of swallowing. Main study parameters/endpoints: The main study outcome is the eating rate (g/min).
Reducing food portion size is a potential strategy to reduce energy intake. There is some evidence to suggest that individuals with lower socioeconomic position (SEP) intend to eat more from larger portions, suggesting that the effect of portion size on food intake might vary by SEP. However, no study has tested this by measuring actual food intake. This study examines whether reductions to the portion size of components of a main meal will reduce daily energy intake, and whether and how socioeconomic position (higher vs lower) moderates the portion size effect. In a crossover experiment, participants will be served all meals in the lab on two separate days, with the portion size of main meal components at lunch and dinner manipulated (i.e. smaller on one day vs larger on the other day). All other foods offered are identical. Food intake from the portion-manipulated lunch and dinner, as well as all other meal components (breakfast, dessert, seconds, snacks) will be measured, and any additional food consumed by the participant will be measured using self-report, giving total daily energy intake (kcal).