MedTrace Logo

Biobehavioral Reward Responses Associated With Consumption of Nutritionally Diverse Ultra-Processed Foods

NCT05437809 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 50

Last updated 2026-02-12

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The changing food environment, with increasingly abundant ultra-processed food (UPF) options, may directly contribute to rising rates of obesity, though it is unknown which ingredients in UPF elevate their reinforcing nature in a way that may lead to overconsumption. The proposed study is the first to systematically examine differences in the rewarding characteristics of and physiological and metabolic responses to UPFs that are high in fat, refined carbohydrates (like sugar), or both. Understanding the biobehavioral underpinnings that enhance the reinforcing potential of ingredients in UPF (e.g., fat vs. refined carbohydrates) can inform novel intervention targets for the treatment of overeating and obesity.

Conditions

  • Obesity
  • Overeating
  • Food Addiction

Interventions

OTHER

Intake of nutritionally diverse ultra-processed foods

All participants will attend four food consumption assessment visits where, at each visit, they will be asked to consume a standardized snack portion of: 1) ultra-processed foods (UPFs) high in both fat and refined carbohydrates (UPF+FRC), 2) UPF high in fat (UPF+F), 3) UPF high in refined carbohydrates (white flour, sugar) (UPF+RC), or 4) minimally processed foods. The order of the four food consumption assessment visits will be randomized and counterbalanced across participants, who will each consume all the test snacks across the four appointments.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Oregon Research Institute Community and Evaluation Services

    collaborator UNKNOWN

  • Oregon Research Institute

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
65 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2023-02-20
Primary Completion
2026-12-31
Completion
2027-03-31

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT05437809 on ClinicalTrials.gov