Brain Mechanisms of Overeating in Children

NCT03341247 | Completed DMC

• 1 other identifier: RO1 Study
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 254
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The proposed research will follow healthy weight children who vary by family risk for obesity to identify the neurobiological and appetitive traits that are implicated in overeating and weight gain during the critical pre-adolescent period. The investigator's central hypothesis is that increased intake from large portions of energy dense foods is due in part to reduced activity in brain regions implicated in inhibitory control and decision making, combined with increased activity in reward processing pathways. To test this hypothesis, the investigators will recruit 120 healthy weight children, aged 7-8 years, at two levels of obesity risk (i.e., 60 high-risk and 60 low-risk) based on parent weight status. This will result in 240 participants: 120 children and their parents.

Conditions

Pediatric Obesity; Inhibition; Decision Making; fMRI

Keywords

Obesity; Portion Size Effect; fMRI; Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Inhibition; Decision Making; Satiety Responsiveness; Anthropometrics; DXA; Reward Processing; Working Memory; Meal microstructure

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Brain Responses to Portion Size

  The investigators will use functional magnetic resonance imaging to characterize the brain regions which are activated in response to food portion size and compare these regions between high- and low-risk children.

  baseline

• Food Intake Relationship to Portion Size

  The investigators will determine the relationship between brain response to visual portion size cues and measured food intake when portions are increased in laboratory meals.

  baseline

• The Change in DXA analysis of child adiposity after 1 year

  The investigators will determine the extent to which baseline brain and behavioral responses to portion size predict gains in adiposity assessed by anthropometrics (body weight, height, and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry). Body weight (kg) and Height (m) will be aggregated to report BMI in kg/m\^2.

  From baseline visit to 1 year later

Secondary Outcomes (6)

• Brain Response Relationships

  baseline

• Inhibitory control assessed by a Stop Signal test

  baseline

• Reward-related design

  baseline and 1 year later

• Working memory

  baseline and 1 year later

• Meal microstructure

  baseline and 1 year later

Other Outcomes (3)

• Physical Activity

  baseline

• Loss of control eating

  baseline

• Parent-described eating behaviors

  baseline

Study Arms (2)

Low-risk of obesity

Children whose biological mother and biological father have a body mass index between 18.5 - 25 kg/m2.

High-risk of obesity

Children whose biological mother has a body mass index greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2 and whose biological father have a body mass index greater than or equal to 25 kg/m2.

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 7 Years - 8 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Parents and their 7-8 year old children in Centre County, Pennsylvania and surrounding areas.

You may qualify if:

• Child is in good health based on parental self-report
• Child has no learning disabilities (e.g., ADHD)
• Child has no diagnosed psychological or medical conditions/devices, or metal in/on the body that may impact comfort or safety in the fMRI (e.g., anxiety, insulin pump)
• Child is not on any medications known to influence body weight, taste, food intake, behavior, or blood flow
• Child is not claustrophobic
• Child is between the ages of 7-8 years-old at enrollment
• Child's immediate family members have not been diagnosed with a psychological disorder, including depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, etc.
• Child's biological mother and biological father have a body mass index either between 18.5 - 25 kg/m2 (low-risk group) or biological mother has a body mass index greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2 and biological father has a body mass index greater than or equal to 25 kg/m2 (high-risk group)
• Child's parent participating in study must be available to attend visits with child

You may not qualify if:

• Child is not in good health based on parent self-report
• Child has any learning disabilities (e.g., ADHD)
• Child has any psychological or medical conditions/devices that may impact comfort in the fMRI (e.g., anxiety, insulin pump)
• Child is taking any medications known to influence body weight, taste, food intake, behavior, or blood flow
• Child is claustrophobic
• Child is less than 7 or greater than 8 years-old at enrollment
• Child has any immediate family members diagnosed with a psychological disorder, including depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, etc.
• Child's biological mother or biological father's body mass index do not fit into the parameters for either group (both biological parents \< 18.5 for low-risk group or biological mother is \< 30 and biological father is \< 25 for high-risk group)
• Child's parent participating in study is not available to attend visits with child
• Child is blue/green colorblind
• Child is not fluent in the English language

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Penn State University: lead

Study Sites (1)

The Pennsylvania State University

University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, United States

Location

Related Publications (12)

• Burger KS, Stice E. Variability in reward responsivity and obesity: evidence from brain imaging studies. Curr Drug Abuse Rev. 2011 Sep;4(3):182-9. doi: 10.2174/1874473711104030182.

  PMID: 21999692 BACKGROUND

• Bruce AS, Martin LE, Savage CR. Neural correlates of pediatric obesity. Prev Med. 2011 Jun;52 Suppl 1:S29-35. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2011.01.018. Epub 2011 Feb 1.

  PMID: 21291906 BACKGROUND

• De Silva A, Salem V, Matthews PM, Dhillo WS. The use of functional MRI to study appetite control in the CNS. Exp Diabetes Res. 2012;2012:764017. doi: 10.1155/2012/764017. Epub 2012 May 8.

  PMID: 22719753 BACKGROUND

• French SA, Mitchell NR, Wolfson J, Harnack LJ, Jeffery RW, Gerlach AF, Blundell JE, Pentel PR. Portion size effects on weight gain in a free living setting. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2014 Jun;22(6):1400-5. doi: 10.1002/oby.20720. Epub 2014 Feb 19.

  PMID: 24510841 BACKGROUND

• Grammer JK, Carrasco M, Gehring WJ, Morrison FJ. Age-related changes in error processing in young children: a school-based investigation. Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2014 Jul;9:93-105. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2014.02.001. Epub 2014 Feb 11.

  PMID: 24631799 BACKGROUND

• Morrell, J. (1999). The Infant Sleep Questionnaire: A new tool to assess infant sleep problems for clinical and research purposes. Child Psychology and Psychiatry Review 4, 20-26.

  BACKGROUND

• Tetley A, Brunstrom J, Griffiths P. Individual differences in food-cue reactivity. The role of BMI and everyday portion-size selections. Appetite. 2009 Jun;52(3):614-620. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2009.02.005. Epub 2009 Feb 25.

  PMID: 19501758 BACKGROUND

• Tanner, J.M. (1962). Growth at adolescence.(Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications).

  BACKGROUND

• Bhat YR, Keller KL, Brick TR, Pearce AL. ByteTrack: a deep learning approach for bite count and bite rate detection using meal videos in children. Front Nutr. 2025 Oct 3;12:1610363. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1610363. eCollection 2025.

  PMID: 41112744 DERIVED

• Bhat YR, Rolls BJ, Wilson SJ, Rose E, Geier CF, Fuchs B, Garavan H, Keller KL. Eating in the Absence of Hunger Is a Stable Predictor of Adiposity Gains in Middle Childhood. J Nutr. 2024 Dec;154(12):3726-3739. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.10.008. Epub 2024 Oct 10.

  PMID: 39393498 DERIVED

• Keller KL, Pearce AL, Fuchs B, Rolls BJ, Wilson SJ, Geier CF, Rose E, Garavan H. PACE: a Novel Eating Behavior Phenotype to Assess Risk for Obesity in Middle Childhood. J Nutr. 2024 Jul;154(7):2176-2187. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.05.019. Epub 2024 May 23.

  PMID: 38795747 DERIVED

• Neuwald NV, Pearce AL, Cunningham PM, Koczwara L, Setzenfand MN, Rolls BJ, Keller KL. Switching between foods is reliably associated with intake across eating events in children. Appetite. 2024 Jun 1;197:107325. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2024.107325. Epub 2024 Mar 26.

  PMID: 38548135 DERIVED

Related Links

• Dr. Kathleen Keller's current research
• Dr. Stephen Wilson's current research

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Pediatric Obesity; Inhibition, Psychological; Obesity

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Overweight; Overnutrition; Nutrition Disorders; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Body Weight; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Behavior

Study Officials

• Kathleen L Keller, Ph.D.

  Penn State University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: OTHER
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Director

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 11, 2017
• First Posted: November 14, 2017
• Study Start: January 31, 2018
• Primary Completion: June 20, 2023
• Study Completion: June 20, 2023
• Last Updated: January 3, 2024

Record last verified: 2023-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)