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NCT03783507Active, not recruiting

Foods Within a Meal and Food Liking Study

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 9 Jun 2026

Brief summary (registry, in English)

For weight loss to occur, energy intake needs to be reduced to incur an energy deficit. One dietary strategy that may facilitate weight loss is consuming a diet low in dietary energy density (ED). It is hypothesized that a diet low in ED, which can be achieved by a high intake of low-ED foods, low intake of high-ED foods, or a combination of the two, will allow a greater amount of volume of food to be consumed relative to energy consumed, which can assist with reducing energy intake. To understand how best to lower the ED of the diet, it is important to understand the relationship between low-ED and high-ED foods. Behavioral economics is a framework that provides a foundation to understand that eating behaviors can be substitutes for each other. Substitute eating behaviors are two behaviors that change in the opposite direction of each other (i.e. one behavior increases as the other behavior decreases). If low-ED and high-ED foods are substitutes for each other, in situations in which low-ED food intake increases, high-ED food should automatically decrease, and vice versa. If they are not substitutes, when low-ED food intake increases, high-ED food intake should remain unchanged, and when high-ED food intake decreases, low-ED food intake should remain unchanged. When low-Ed and high-ED foods are not substitutes for each other, purposeful change in intake for both low- and high-ED foods need to occur to best lower dietary ED. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate if low-ED foods and high-ED foods substitute for each other. Healthy weight adults will be served a meal over 4 sessions, with each meal containing 5 different food items. The foods in the meal will vary in ED: low-ED = 0 to 1.0 kcal/kg; medium-ED = 1.1 to 2.9 kcal/kg; high-ED = \> 3.0 kcal/g. For the 4 sessions, the meals will include: 1) 3 low-ED foods, 0 medium-ED foods, 2 high-ED foods; 2) 3 low-ED foods, 1 medium-ED food, 1 high-ED food; 3) 1 low-ED food, 2-medium ED foods, 2 high-ED foods; and 4) 1 low-ED food, 3 medium-ED foods, and 1 high-ED food.

Status (registry)
Active, not recruiting
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
62 (actual)
First submitted
2 Dec 2018
Start date
13 Dec 2018
Primary completion date
Dec 2026
Lead sponsor
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Diseases
Obesity
NCT number
NCT03783507

What you commit to

  • Study type: Interventional
  • Participants enrolled: 62
  • From 13 Dec 2018 to the primary completion date, Dec 2026
  • 1 site in 1 country
  • Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them

Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.

Who cannot take part

Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.

Prior treatment

  • report taking a medication that affects appetite;

Other illness

  • report a medical condition that influences eating;
  • report allergies to foods used in the investigation;

Other

  • report binge eating;
  • currently smoke;
  • report dietary restrictions;
  • report being pregnant or breast-feeding;
  • report being an athlete in training.

Who the study is looking for

  • age between 18 and 35 years;
  • body mass index (BMI) 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m2;
  • unrestrained eater (≤12 on Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ);
  • chicken or tomato soup, chocolate sugar-free pudding, grapes, blueberry yogurt, macaroni and cheese, vanilla ice cream, pretzels, and honey graham snacks (rate all items ≥ 50mm on a visual analogue scale (VAS);
  • report regularly eating before 10 am; and
  • can complete all sessions within 8 weeks of the screening session, will be eligible for the study.

Age in the registry: 18 years to 35 years · Sex: All · Accepts healthy volunteers

Full criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov

Sites (1)

Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.

SiteCityCountrySite status
University of Tennessee - Knoxville
Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status
KnoxvilleUnited StatesUnknown status

This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.