Cortisol and Food Insecurity

NCT05191030 | Completed Results

• 2 other identifiers: 21-000048R01DK128575
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 453
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study used a within-subjects design in a sample of individuals with a range of food insecurity recruited from the Los Angeles community (N = 400; 44.5% men). These participants then, in counterbalanced order, were exposed to a gold-standard laboratory stressor and a control condition, one month apart. Moderation analyses will test whether cortisol reactivity to the stressor acts as a modulator of the relationship between high levels of food insecurity and increased hyperpalatable food intake.

Conditions

Food Insecurity

Keywords

Food insecurity; Physiological Stress; Psychological Stress; Cortisol; Eating; Diet

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Hyperpalatable Food Intake Measured in Kilocalories

  The primary outcome was hyperpalatable food intake, initially measured in grams and converted into kilocalories. The food consisted of the following items: donuts, M\&Ms, potato chips, crackers, and Sprite. These foods were chosen because processed foods, added sugars, refined grains, starchy vegetables, and sugar sweetened beverages are foods to avoid according to the 2019 American Diabetes Association Nutrition Consensus Report and are high in carbohydrates and glycemic index.

  Hyperpalatable food intake was measured twice: 5 minutes following the experimental (high stress) or control condition during the first visit, and again 5 minutes following the alternate condition during the second visit.

Study Arms (2)

Experimental (High Stress) First, Then Control

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants first completed the high-stress condition in which they were exposed to a gold-standard laboratory stressor, the Trier Social Stress Test (Kirschbaum et al., 1993). Participants were given five minutes to prepare for a five-minute speech task followed by a five-minute mental arithmetic task in front of two panelists wearing white lab coats (i.e., a male and female research assistant). The speech task put the participant in a mock interview, with the panelists listening to the speech in an unresponsive, neutral manner and asking standardized probing questions. During the mental arithmetic task, participants were instructed to subtract odd numbers (i.e., 7 and 13) from a large number (i.e., 2935) as quickly as possible. If the participant made a mistake, the panelist interrupted them and instructed them to start the task again from the beginning. The panelists reminded the participant to "go faster" if they started to slow down with the task.

Behavioral: High-Stress Intervention

Control First, Then Experimental (High Stress)

NO INTERVENTION

Participants first underwent the control condition during which they were presented with low-stress equivalents to the speech and mental arithmetic tasks from the experimental (high-stress) condition. For the speech task, participants were instructed to talk out loud to themselves for five minutes about a movie or book of their choice. Their speech was recorded using a small audio recorder device the research assistant prepared. For the mental arithmetic task, participants were instructed to count by increments of 15 starting from zero to the largest number they could reach. Participants were left in the room alone for the task for five minutes, after which the participant self-reported to the research assistant the number they reached.

Interventions

High-Stress Intervention BEHAVIORAL

Those undergoing the High-Stress will be exposed to a gold-standard laboratory stressor, the Trier Social Stress Test (Kirschbaum et al., 1993), which reliably induces cortisol reactivity in most individuals.

Experimental (High Stress) First, Then Control

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Age 18+
• English-speaking

You may not qualify if:

• Recent (\<1 year) diagnosis of major psychiatric disorders including any mood disorder, schizophrenia, or PTSD
• Recent (\<1 year) diagnosis of eating disorder
• Recent (\<1 year) diagnosis of metabolic or endocrine disorder or steroid or hormonal contraceptive use
• Pregnancy
• Allergy to any of the foods in the food buffet
• Participation in strict dieting or caloric restriction

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of California, Los Angeles: lead
• National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of California, Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California, 90095, United States

Location

Related Publications (2)

• Kirschbaum C, Pirke KM, Hellhammer DH. The 'Trier Social Stress Test'--a tool for investigating psychobiological stress responses in a laboratory setting. Neuropsychobiology. 1993;28(1-2):76-81. doi: 10.1159/000119004.

  PMID: 8255414 BACKGROUND

• American Diabetes Association. Diabetes care standards of medical care in Diabetes - 2019. J Clin Appl Res Educ 2019.

  BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Stress, Psychological

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior

Results Point of Contact

• Title: A. Janet Tomiyama
• Organization: University of California, Los Angeles

tomiyama@psych.ucla.edu

310-206-6875

Study Officials

• A. Janet Tomiyama, Ph.D.

  University of California, Los Angeles

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: No
• Restrictive Agreement: No

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Model Details: The study is a within-subjects experiment. The order in which participants underwent the experimental or control conditions/arms was counterbalanced. 50% of participants underwent the experimental condition first and then the control condition, one month later. The rest of the sample underwent the control condition first then the experimental condition, one month later.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 4, 2022
• First Posted: January 13, 2022
• Study Start: March 11, 2022
• Primary Completion: September 23, 2025
• Study Completion: September 23, 2025
• Last Updated: July 10, 2026
• Results First Posted: July 10, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-06

Locations

US (1)