Foods Within a Meal and Food Liking Study

Running, not enrolling · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Diet Habit, Obesity

In brief

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.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT03783507

Run by

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

People needed

62

Starts

2018-12-13

Expected to finish

2026-12-01

Last updated by the study team

2026-06-09

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 35. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• 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.

You may not qualify if…

• report binge eating;
• report a medical condition that influences eating;
• report allergies to foods used in the investigation;
• currently smoke;
• report dietary restrictions;
• report taking a medication that affects appetite;
• report being pregnant or breast-feeding;
• report being an athlete in training.

Where it is running

• University of Tennessee, Knoxville — Knoxville, Tennessee, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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