Replacing Sugary Sodas With Sparkling Water in Adolescents With Obesity
Tests whether unsweetened sparkling water can replace sugary sodas in teens with obesity.
Key facts
- Who runs it
- Nana Gletsu Miller
- Where
- Bloomington, Indianapolis, and West Lafayette, United StatesSee the 3 sites
- Trial code
- Registry title
- A Sensory Strategy to Cut Sugary Beverages in African/American and Latine Adolescents
- Status
- Recruiting
- People taking part
- 63 people, planned
- Started
- 25 Jul 2025
- Expected to end
- Jun 2027
- Type of study
- Interventional, 3 groupsOne group gets an existing treatment, for comparison.
- Treatments tested
- Unsweetened Sparkling Water Replacement
- Progressively Reduced Sugar Beverage Replacement
- Plain Water Replacement
- Record updated
- 6 August 2026
Who can take part
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.
The trial is looking for Black/African American and Latine teens with obesity who like very sweet drinks and drink sugary soda often.
- Age
- 12 to 18 years
- Sex
- All sexes can join.
- Disease stage
- Adolescents with obesity who prefer sweet-tasting drinks.
- Biomarker or test result
- Picks 0.3M (10.3% sucrose) or above as the most liked sugar drink sample in a taste test.
Main reasons for not taking part
- Pregnant
- Allergic or intolerant to the items being tested
- Type 1 or type 2 diabetes
- Using GLP-1 receptor agonists intended for weight loss
- Currently dieting or changing diet
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 6 criteriaShow less
Who can take part
- Adolescents ages 12 to 18 who display a "sweet-liker" pattern, characterized by a preference for higher concentrations of sugar in beverages, specifically identifying 0.3M (10.3% sucrose) or above as their most liked sample
- Adolescents consumes sugar-sweetened soda greater than or equal to 2 times per week. Adolescents must also indicate a willingness to drink study beverages; not currently dieting/changing diet
Who cannot take part
- Participant is allergic or intolerant to the items we are testing
- Adolescent with type 1 or type 2 diabetes (self-declared or detected at screening visit through fasting glucose)
- Adolescent participant is pregnant, since pregnancy affects taste perception
- Use of GLP-1 receptor agonists intended for weight loss
Check if you might fit
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 12 and 18 years old?
Where in United States
- Indiana University School of Public Health - BloomingtonBloomington, United StatesContact: Nana Gletsu Miller, PhDNot yet recruiting
- Indiana University HospitalIndianapolis, United StatesContact: Nana Gletsu Miller, PhDTaking people
- Purdue UniversityWest Lafayette, United StatesContact: Cordelia Running, PhDTaking people
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
The goal of this clinical trial is to test whether replacing sugary sodas with unsweetened, flavored sparkling waters can reduce added sugar intake and improve health in Black/African American and Latine adolescents with obesity who prefer sweet-tasting beverages. The main questions it aims to answer are:
Read full original descriptionShow less
* Does replacing sugary sodas with water change liking for sugary drinks, and water? * Do shifts in liking for sweetness lead to improved diet quality and cardiometabolic health?
Researchers will compare replacing sugary sodas with one of three alternative beverages: unsweetened sparkling water, plain water, and beverages with gradually reduced sugar to determine which strategy is most effective.
Participants will:
* Replace sugary sodas with study drinks for 4 weeks * Complete taste tests to measure their liking for and sensory experience of sweetness over 8-weeks * Provide dietary recalls, body measurements, and blood samples over 8-weeks
The 3 groups in the trial
- Unsweetened Sparkling Water (USW)Treatment being tested
Participants in this group will replace all sugar-sweetened sodas with flavored, unsweetened sparkling waters for 4 weeks.
Treatment: Unsweetened Sparkling Water Replacement
- Progressively Reduced Sugar (PRS)Treatment being tested
Participants in this group will replace sugar-sweetened sodas with carbonated beverages that contain decreasing levels of sugar each week over a 4-week period, ending with a fully unsweetened sparkling water.
Treatment: Progressively Reduced Sugar Beverage Replacement
- Plain Water (PW)Existing treatment, for comparison
Participants in this group will replace all sugar-sweetened sodas with plain, still water for 4 weeks. This arm serves as a control to compare outcomes against both the unsweetened sparkling water and gradually reduced sugar beverage interventions.
Treatment: Plain Water Replacement
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorData and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Official title
- Trading Sugar for Sparkles in Adolescents, A Sensory Approach for Reducing Added Sugar From Sweetened Beverages
- Plain-language title
- Replacing Sugary Sodas With Sparkling Water in Adolescents With ObesityGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
- AI summary
- From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 12 November 2026.
- Fit questions
- Built from NCT07223151, who can take part
- Record updated
- 6 August 2026