View clinical trials related to Obesity.
Filter by:Purpose and objective: To identify in the early post-operative period following laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass patients likely to fail to progressively lose weight in expected fashion, and to institute intervention and assess for its efficacy. Study activities and population group: Patients identified to have "poor weight loss" (≤ 11% of excess weight loss) at 1 month will be randomized into a control versus study group. Intervention for subjects randomized to the IV arm will be by enrollment in the Back on Track program. This is a seven-week group education, counseling, nutrition, exercise, and journaling program of the Duke Weight Loss Surgery Center designed to help postoperative bariatric surgery patients who are failing to progressively lose weight resume an expected pattern of weight loss and improved overall outcome. Data analysis and risk/safety: Data will be collected and analyzed by the identified investigators. The goal of data analysis is to uncover any difference in the EWL of subjects who underwent intervention for falling in the lowest EWL quartile when compared with those who did not undergo intervention, and determine the statistical significance of any such difference. There are no physical risks associated with this study. There is, however, the potential risk of loss of confidentiality. Every effort will be made to keep your information confidential.
This will be a randomized controlled trial that compares the rates of sedation related complications in high risk patients (ASA greater or equal to 3, BMI greater or equal to 30, those at risk for OSA) undergoing advanced endoscopy procedures with propofol alone compared to propofol in combination with benzodiazepines and opioids.
Background: - New weight-loss intervention programs are being studied to determine their effectiveness in helping overweight and obese individuals reach a healthy weight. However, these programs often have not been tested against each other, and researchers are interested in determining which interventions are most effective both immediately and over the long term in promoting and maintaining weight loss. - Mindful Tai Chi is a combined form of the meditative martial art tai chi and the practice of mindfulness meditation. Tai chi and mindfulness meditation both have common philosophical underpinnings that address health promotion and well-being by applying the skill of non-judgmental awareness on a moment-to-moment daily basis. More research is needed on whether Mindful Tai Chi and mindfulness meditation can help improve various health factors in overweight and obese individuals. Objectives: - To compare the effects of Mindful Tai Chi, mindfulness meditation, walking, or a discussion group on the weight and well being of overweight and obese participants. Eligibility: - Healthy individuals at least 18 years of age who are either overweight or obese (body mass index between 25 and 40), have a sedentary lifestyle (have not engaged in more than 1 hour of aerobic exercise per week within the last month), and are willing to commit to a specific weight-loss intervention program. Design: - This study involves four visits for collecting information and 12 weeks of research study activities. - During the first visit, participants will hear information about the study and may ask any questions. They will be screened with a medical history and physical examination, and those eligible will be assigned to one of the four study groups: Mindful Tai Chi (MTC), Mindfulness Meditation (MM), Mall Walking (MW), or Weekly Discussion (WD) group. - For the second visit, participants will give blood and urine samples, receive an abdominal ultrasound, ride a stationary bicycle for 5 minutes, and fill out health-related questionnaires. - For 12 weeks, participants will be involved in the following activities depending on their group: - MTC: Class for 2 hours per week, emphasizing the meditation aspects of tai chi. Each session will include at least 20 minutes of meditation. Participants will receive written instructions and an accompanying DVD in comparable formats specifying a minimum of 30 minutes of daily home assignment. In weeks 2 and 8, participants will have a workshop for mindfulness skill application in daily activity. - MM: Class for 2 hours per week of mindfulness meditation. Participants will receive written instructions and an accompanying DVD in comparable formats specifying a minimum of 30 minutes of daily home assignment. In weeks 2 and 8, participants will have a workshop for mindfulness skill application in daily activity. - MW: Participants will meet at a designated mall location once a week for 2-hour walk. - WD: Participants will meet at the National Institutes of Health for weekly weight-loss discussion. - For the third and fourth visits, participants will receive the same procedures as those used in the second visit. These visits will occur at the end of the 12-week activity period and at a 3-month follow up visit.
The purpose of this study is to test a method of imaging (taking a picture) of the abdomen (belly), neck, thigh and calf (lower leg) areas of the body, using ultrasound along with a drug which makes the pictures look clearer. Ultrasound is a type of imaging that uses sound waves to create a picture of the inside of the human body. Two sets of pictures will be taken on two different days to see if the results are the same each time. DEFINITY® is a drug given intravenously (through the vein). DEFINITY® is approved by the FDA to be used as an ultrasound contrast agent (makes the pictures look clearer) while taking pictures of the heart. In this study, DEFINITY® will be used while taking pictures of blood vessels in your abdomen (belly), neck, thigh and calf (lower leg). Since this use of DEFINITY® is different than the use approved by the FDA, this study will be performed under an FDA Investigational New Drug (IND) application.
Despite widespread efforts to improve the treatment of obesity, only limited progress has been made. Calorie restriction (CR) has consistently been shown to produce weight loss, as well as delay the onset of age-related diseases, in numerous species. Most overweight individuals, however, are unable to sustain CR induced weight losses, possibly due to internal feedback systems that signal the body to increase food intake or decrease energy expenditure in response to weight loss. Novel treatment approaches are thus urgently needed that can assist overweight individuals in adhering to a CR regimen over the long-term. Botanicals represent an important and underexplored source of potential new therapies that may facilitate CR. In particular, one promising botanical that may reduce food intake and body weight by affecting neuroendocrine pathways related to satiety is Garcinia Cambogia (Garcinia Cambogia Desr.)-derived (-)-hydroxycitric acid. This compound has been found to facilitate weight loss in a number of studies. To date, few studies have directly tested the effect that this botanical on food intake in humans, its mechanism of action, or its effect on oxidative stress levels; thus rigorous scientific studies on this compounds need to be conducted. A double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study will be conducted to explore the role that two different doses of this botanical compound have on food intake, satiety, weight loss, and oxidative stress levels. It is hypothesized that compared to placebo, both doses of Garcinia Cambogia (hydroxycitric acid) will reduce food intake, increase satiety, decrease weight, and reduce oxidative stress levels.
Background: - Overweight and obese children and adults often have lower levels of growth hormone in the blood. Regulation of growth hormone may be tied to weight and free fatty acids in the blood. Current tests of growth hormone (such as those used when evaluating the heights of children who are markedly shorter than other children of comparable age) may be affected by other factors, including obesity. Researchers are interested in evaluating the levels of growth hormone and free fatty acids in the blood of children between 7 and 14 years of age who weigh more than children of a comparable age, or who are shorter than other children of a comparable age and have been recommended for growth hormone testing as part of an evaluation for their height. Objectives: - To determine the effect of changes in free fatty acids in the blood on changes in growth hormone secretion in overweight or shorter children and young adolescents. Eligibility: - Children and adolescents between 7 and 14 years of age who weigh more than or are shorter than other children of a comparable age and do not have any medical illnesses. Design: - Participants will have two study visits, one of which will be a half day screening visit in the outpatient clinic and one of which will require 2 nights as an inpatient at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. - Participants should not eat or drink anything except water after 10 PM the night before or on the morning of the screening visit. - At the screening visit, participants will have a physical examination and medical history, provide blood and urine samples, have an oral glucose tolerance test (to check blood sugar levels), and have an x-ray of the left hand to check bone age. - The inpatient study visit will involve a physical examination and medical history, a full x-ray scan to study body fat and muscle, frequent blood tests throughout the visit, and various medications to stimulate growth hormone production and lower levels of free fatty acids in the blood.
Following screening, eligible subjects will be enrolled into a 6‑week Low Calorie Diet (LCD) lead-in period. Subjects who lose at least 2% of their body weight at the end of the 6-week LCD lead-in period will be randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms (pramlintide+metreleptin or placebo) to begin a 16-week treatment period during which the effect on body weight of treatment with pramlintide+metreleptin will be compared to placebo. Following the 16 week blinded core treatment period, subjects will discontinue study medication for a period of 12 weeks. Following the 12 week off-drug follow-up period, subjects in both groups will initiate a 12 week open-label treatment period with Pramlintide+Metreleptin. During the 12 week off-drug and 12 week open label treatment periods, subjects will continue to participate in a Lifestyle Intervention (LSI) program.
Silastic rings have been used around the gastric pouch in order to promote better weight loss after Roux-and-Y gastric bypass surgery ( RYGBP). However the investigators have shown that some patients developed gastroesophageal reflux disease after RYGBP in a previous study. The investigators hypothesized that the use of a silastic ring may play a role in promoting GERD after this operation.
Study hypothesis is that patients on antipsychotics medication treated with metformin will show loss in weight and improved measures of glucose metabolism.
In this project, we propose to recruit lean and obese subjects with different ethnic background (African Americans and Caucasians) to study the alterations of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism and determine whether these disturbances are linked to genetic, inflammatory, oxidative stress, and/or nutritional factors. Because systemic inflammation and insulin resistance are frequent features of obesity, we postulate that an unbalanced diet with high saturated- and low omega 3-fatty acids is linked to obesity-related inflammation and insulin resistance. We propose to investigate fatty acid metabolism and determine the links between fatty acid composition and oxidative stress in tissues of lean and obese subjects. We propose the following aims: Specific Aim 1: Evaluate nutrient intake in lean and obese subjects using the standard NHANES Food Questionnaire. Specific Aim 2: Evaluate the fatty acid composition, including omega-3, in adipose tissue depots, blood monocytes and skeletal muscle, and examine the relationship between omega-3 content and inflammatory and oxidative stress markers. Specific Aim 3: Compare the effects of omega-3 and saturated FA supplementation on inflammatory and oxidative stress markers in vitro in adipose tissue explants, preadipocytes and monocyte culture.