Obesity Clinical Trials

Though the Mississippi Delta has a rich agricultural history and some of the nation's most fertile soil, residents have experienced the legacy of slavery and economic exploitation through food insecurity and poverty for generations. This project focuses on Bolivar, Washington, and Sunflower, contiguous counties in the Delta that are designated as health disparity populations. Over 65% of the 100,000 residents are Black/African American and \~30% live at or below the poverty level. Obesity rates are high and the rate of diabetes is almost double the national average. Tufts University received a grant from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities to develop, test, and evaluate a Food is Medicine program in Mississippi. The Delta Growing a Resilient, Enriching, Equitable, Nourishing food System (GREENS) Food is Medicine (FIM) Project, is a collaborative project in Bolivar, Washington, and Sunflower counties in Mississippi. The intervention involves regularly distributed fruit and vegetable produce boxes as well as nutrition education materials to the intervention group. The control group will receive produce boxes later, after they complete study activities. The project's primary goal is to improve health outcomes by creating a FIM intervention. The Delta GREENS FIM Project aims to become a model for promoting nutrition security and management of chronic conditions in varied communities nationwide. Read Less

In this randomized controlled trial, the investigators will assess the health impacts of optimizing the timing of dietary consumption in nurses and nursing assistants who work night shifts, have a habitual eating window of 14 hours or more, and elevated weight. Participants will be randomized to one of three groups: (1) dietary monitoring, (2) dietary monitoring plus 10-hour daytime time-restricted eating (TRE), or (3) TRE with a low-glycemic snack during night shifts. The study includes a 2-week screening/baseline health assessment, with follow-up health assessments at 3-, 6- (primary outcome), and 12 months. Read Less

The PREDICT 3 study will build on previous research in over 2,000 individuals to further refine machine learning models that predict individual responses to foods, with the aim of advancing precision nutrition science and individualized dietary advice. The study incorporates both standardized and controlled dietary intervention, for the purpose of testing postprandial responses to specific mixed meals, in addition to a free-living period with a dietary record for measuring responses to a large variety of meals consumed in a realistic context, where the role of external factors (e.g. exercise, sleep, time of day) on postprandial responses may be determined. For the first time this PREDICT study is built on top of a commercial product which will allow access to a much larger group of participants who are already collecting large amounts of data through digital and biochemical devices that can contribute to science. Read Less

The purpose of this pilot study is to conduct a 12-week pilot feasibility study testing usability of a reinforcement learning model (AdaptRL) in a weight loss intervention (ADAPT study). Building upon a previous just-in-time adaptive intervention (JITAI), a reinforcement learning model will generate decision rules unique to each individual that are intended to improve the tailoring of brief intervention messages (e.g., what behavior to message about, what behavior change techniques to include), improve achievement of daily behavioral goals, and improve weight loss in a sample of 20 adults. Read Less

Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) is the most common cause of chronic liver disease worldwide and predominately affects individuals with overweight and obesity, as well as those with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Tirzepatide is a medication used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity. It has also been shown to help with MASLD. The purpose of this study is to study how tirzepatide affects the liver in patients with MASLD. Participants will be asked to: * Take tirzepatide for 12 months. * Come in for clinic visits every 3 months. * Have blood drawn at baseline, 6, and 12 months. * Complete a liver ultrasound at baseline and at 12 months. Read Less

The purpose of study is to evaluate the efficacy of the Mayo Clinic Diet in clinically significant weight loss (\>5%) versus usual care. We also wish to evaluate the feasibility, barriers to completion, and sustainability of this intervention at the 24, and 52-week marks. Lastly, we aim to study the change in participants body composition and quality of life at the end of this intervention. Read Less

Obesity and its metabolic complications are leading causes of global morbidity and mortality. Evidence is mounting that inappropriate timing of food intake contributes to obesity. Specifically, late eating is associated with greater weight gain and metabolic syndrome. However, the mechanism by which late eating harms metabolism is not fully understood but may be related to mis-timing of food intake in relation to the body's endogenous circadian rhythm. Conversely, harmonization of eating timing with endogenous circadian rhythm may optimize metabolic health. In this study the investigators will use gold-standard methods of characterizing circadian rhythm in humans to examine the metabolic impacts food timing relative to endogenous circadian rhythm. Read Less

This trial aims to test the feasibility and acceptability of addressing interpersonal barriers to weight-related behavior change. Specifically, the study will test if, by including up to two friends, family members, or co-workers in a lifestyle intervention for weight loss, the person enrolled in the study loses more weight than someone whose friends, family members, or co-workers were not invited to participate. Read Less

The prevalence of obesity among U.S. adults is \~40% and is projected to climb. It is well documented that obesity is associated with increased levels of disability as well as risk for numerous adverse health-related outcomes; including occurrence of stroke and all-cause mortality. Obesity is highly prevalent in stroke survivors (\~30-45% of stroke survivors have BMI\>30) and is associated with reductions in physical function and increased disability. Furthermore, neurological sequelae following stroke result in a myriad of residual impairments that contribute to significant reductions in physical activity, which further increase the risk for obesity. The alarmingly high (and increasing) rates of obesity amongst stroke survivors represents an area of critical clinical need and, despite an abundance of information regarding weight loss approaches in neurologically healthy individuals, there is a lack of information regarding the impact of intentional weight loss on overweight and obese survivors of stroke. Thus, the purpose of this study it investigate the effect of varying weight loss approaches on physical function and psychosocial outcomes in chronic stroke survivors. Read Less

Adults who gain most of their excess weight in the abdominal area typically do not respond to insulin in the same way as lean adults. Researchers are trying to understand why fat tissue responds differently in people with different body types. Read Less

The purpose of this project is to evaluate the effectiveness of a virtual diabetes group visits on patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Read Less

Adipose tissue turnover plays a critical role in body weight maintenance, and obesity is underscored by the dysregulated balance between fat breakdown and synthesis. Although there are clear health-related benefits of physical activity, little is known about how resistance exercise, as opposed to endurance exercise, can reduce the risk of metabolic disorders, particularly in women. The goal of the proposed study is to investigate the effectiveness of resistance training to improve basal and stimulated fat metabolism in postmenopausal women with obesity and pre-diabetes, potentially serving as a viable and practical approach to prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes. Read Less