Clinical trial NCT02759523: Neural Mechanisms Underlying Children's Responses to Food Portion Size and Energy Density
Official title: Neural Mechanisms Underlying Children's Responses to Food Portion Size and Energy Density
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Conditions: Pediatric Obesity
Keywords: Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Portion Size
Energy Intake
Lead sponsor: Penn State University
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Social Science Research Institute
First posted: 2016-05-03
Enrollment: 108
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 7
Maximum age (years): 10
Standard ages: CHILD
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Observational model: COHORT
Time perspective: OTHER
Sampling method: PROBABILITY_SAMPLE
Study population: Children between the ages of 7-10 years old and their parents

Brief summary: Increased portion sizes of foods high in energy density (calories per gram of food) have been implicated in the obesity epidemic. Numerous studies show that children and adults eat more from larger portions of food than they do from smaller portions, a response known as the portion size effect. Despite the robust and consistent nature of these findings, the mechanisms underlying the portion size effect are not known. The long-term goal of this research is to identify the neural mechanisms involved in the portion size effect so that this information can be used to develop effective weight-management strategies. Differences in neural response to food cues, as demonstrated by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), can help clarify the factors that determine susceptibility to large portions. The goal of this study is to identify brain regions activated in response to portion size and energy density and relate these neural responses to laboratory eating behaviors in children.

The investigators hypothesize that high relative to low energy density food images will be associated with increased activation in regions of the brain involved in reward- and sensory- processing and that large relative to small portion size food images will be associated with increased activation in regions of the brain involved in cognitive control. In addition, the investigators hypothesize that these brain responses will influence the relationship between portion size served and energy intake at laboratory meals.

Detailed description: What this study will add to the literature: The response to food images that vary by portion size using fMRI has not been previously reported. Furthermore, how the brain response to food portion size and energy density is related to energy intake has not been previously reported. The goal of this study is to identify brain regions activated in response to portion size and energy density and relate these neural responses to laboratory eating behaviors in children.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Right-handedness
* English as native language
* Reading at /above grade level
* Not claustrophobic
* Generally healthy

Exclusion Criteria:

* Left-handedness
* Metal in or on the body that cannot be removed
* Claustrophobic
* Medication usage that could alter brain activity
* Medical disorder that may impact comfort in scanner
* Food allergies

Primary outcomes:
measure: fMRI blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) response to food portion size and energy density
timeFrame: Collected at fMRI scan (1 of 1) at week 5
measure: Energy intake
timeFrame: Collected at week 1, 2, 3, and 4
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Region of Interest (ROI)-response to food portion size and energy density
timeFrame: Collected at fMRI scan (1 of 1) at week 5
Other outcomes:
measure: Appetitive traits
timeFrame: Collected at week 1 (Baseline)
measure: Body composition a/o weight status
timeFrame: Collected at week 1 (Baseline)
measure: Liking of foods
timeFrame: Collected at week 5
measure: Wanting of foods
timeFrame: Collected at week 5
measure: Loss of control eating
timeFrame: Collected at week 1 (Baseline)
measure: Parental feeding strategies
timeFrame: Collected at week 1 (Baseline)
Locations:
Study officials:
affiliation: The Pennsylvania State University
name: Kathleen Keller, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: English L, Lasschuijt M, Keller KL. Mechanisms of the portion size effect. What is known and where do we go from here? Appetite. 2015 May;88:39-49. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2014.11.004. Epub 2014 Nov 11.
citation: Fearnbach SN, English LK, Lasschuijt M, Wilson SJ, Savage JS, Fisher JO, Rolls BJ, Keller KL. Brain response to images of food varying in energy density is associated with body composition in 7- to 10-year-old children: Results of an exploratory study. Physiol Behav. 2016 Aug 1;162:3-9. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.03.007. Epub 2016 Mar 10.
citation: Diktas HE, Keller KL, Roe LS, Rolls BJ. Children's Portion Selection Is Predicted by Food Liking and Is Related to Intake in Response to Increased Portions. J Nutr. 2022 Oct 6;152(10):2287-2296. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxac162.
citation: Keller KL, English LK, Fearnbach SN, Lasschuijt M, Anderson K, Bermudez M, Fisher JO, Rolls BJ, Wilson SJ. Brain response to food cues varying in portion size is associated with individual differences in the portion size effect in children. Appetite. 2018 Jun 1;125:139-151. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2018.01.027. Epub 2018 Feb 2.