Neurobehavioral Plasticity to Regular Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake: An fMRI Experiment
Condition: Obesity; Weight Gain
MeSH terms: Weight Gain
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The proposed project will examine the strength, specificity and persistence of
      neurobehavioral adaptions that occur in the initial period of repeated consumption of a
      branded sugar sweetened beverage (SSB).
    

Detailed description: 
      The proposed project addresses critical gaps in the understanding of the strength,
      specificity and persistence of neurobehavioral adaptions that occur in the initial period of
      repeated consumption of a branded sugar sweetened beverage (SSB). Half of Americans consume
      SSBs on any given day.

      Regular SSB intake is considered a contributing factor to excess energy intake, weight gain,
      and obesity, which impacts 70% of Americans. A contributing factor to repeated SSB
      consumption is sugar intake causes the release of dopamine (DA) and opioids in the striatum,
      providing positive reinforcement. As such, multiple brain-based models of food reward-driven
      obesity have been proposed, largely focusing on the striatum and executive functioning. These
      brain-based models of obesity have elucidated risk factors for overconsumption of high-sugar
      foods; however, data supporting these competing models rely heavily on observational studies
      in small samples.

      Importantly, previous reports from the investigators lab and others directly implicate eating
      behavior patterns as a vital contributor to aberrant neurobehavioral responses to food
      stimuli. However, without experimental evidence, there are fundamental gaps in the
      investigators knowledge about the neurobehavioral adaptations that occur as an individual
      begins to regularly consume a SSB prior to weight change.

      As observational data suggest, it is also crucial to examine individual difference factors
      that may exacerbate or protect against adaptations associated with regular SSB intake, as
      well as whether these adaptions are specific.
    

Intervention name(s): Black Cherry and Orange Flavored Beverage with added sugar; Strawberry Kiwi &Lemonade Flavored Beverage with added sugar; Black Cherry and Orange Flavored Beverage no added sugar; Strawberry Kiwi & Lemonade Flavored Beverage no added sugar; Water
Intervention type(s): Dietary Supplement; Dietary Supplement; Dietary Supplement; Dietary Supplement; Other
Intervention description(s): 10 oz daily for three weeks; 10 oz daily for three weeks; 10 oz daily for three weeks; 10 oz daily for three weeks; Three mL administered per associated logo presentation only during MRI procedure.
Other intervention name(s): Kool-Aid®; Kool-Aid®; Kool-Aid®; Kool-Aid®
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Intervention model description: Stratified randomization techniques will be used to distribute: 1) male & females, 2) those with a BMI > 26.1 & those with a BMI < 26.1, and 3) regular SSB consumers (> 1/day; 12 fl oz) & low or non-SSB consumers equally across the 2 experimental conditions (SSB vs. unsweetened beverage) and then to the two flavors within each experimental condition. BMI of 26.0 was selected as it is the midpoint of inclusion criteria 18 < BMI < 34.
Masking: Single (Participant)
Primary purpose: Diagnostic
Keywords: nutrition; obesity; weight gain; sugar; sugar sweetened beverage; dopamine; neurobehavioral adaptation