NCT05745441

Brief Summary

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.

Trial Health

77
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
32

participants targeted

Target at P25-P50 for not_applicable

Timeline
23mo left

Started Jul 2023

Longer than P75 for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

2 active sites

Status
recruiting

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Progress60%
Jul 2023Mar 2028

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

February 8, 2023

Completed
19 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

February 27, 2023

Completed
4 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

July 5, 2023

Completed
4.7 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

March 31, 2028

Expected
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

March 31, 2028

Last Updated

April 13, 2026

Status Verified

April 1, 2026

Enrollment Period

4.7 years

First QC Date

February 8, 2023

Last Update Submit

April 9, 2026

Conditions

Keywords

circadiansleepglucosemetabolism

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • 24-hour total fat oxidation

    Within-subject difference in total fat oxidation between early dinner and late dinner conditions.

    baseline, 4 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (3)

  • 4-hour post-prandial area-under-the-curve (AUC) glucose levels

    baseline, 4 weeks

  • 4-hour post-prandial area-under-the-curve insulin levels

    baseline, 4 weeks

  • 14-hour post-dinner cumulative dietary fat oxidation

    baseline, 4 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Early Dinner First

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will be served dinner and a stable isotope of oral \[2H31\] palmitate to measure fat oxidation, at an early dinner time (before DLMO). This arm will then cross-over to Late Dinner as the second metabolic visit.

Behavioral: Early DinnerBehavioral: Late DinnerDrug: Early Dinner tracerDrug: Late Dinner tracer

Late Dinner First

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will be served dinner and a stable isotope of oral \[2H31\] palmitate to measure fat oxidation, at a late dinner time (after DLMO). This arm will then cross-over to Early Dinner as the second metabolic visit.

Behavioral: Early DinnerBehavioral: Late DinnerDrug: Early Dinner tracerDrug: Late Dinner tracer

Interventions

Stable isotope of oral \[2H31\] palmitate to measure fat oxidation, given with dinner before DLMO

Early Dinner FirstLate Dinner First

Stable isotope of oral \[2H31\] palmitate to measure fat oxidation, given with dinner after DLMO

Early Dinner FirstLate Dinner First
Early DinnerBEHAVIORAL

Dinner before DLMO

Early Dinner FirstLate Dinner First
Late DinnerBEHAVIORAL

Dinner after DLMO

Early Dinner FirstLate Dinner First

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years - 50 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsAdult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

  • For the Normal-Weight Healthy (NWH) cohort: Healthy male and female adults, age 18-50, with BMI 18-24.9 kg/m2 inclusively
  • For the Obesity-Prediabetes (OPD) cohort: Male and female adults, age 18-50, with BMI ≥30 kg/m2 and prediabetes
  • All participants must be able to understand study procedures, to comply with the procedures for the entire length of the study and be fully mobile.

You may not qualify if:

  • Sleep disorder including insomnia, untreated moderate-severe sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, or narcolepsy
  • Night shift work
  • Extreme delayed sleep phase defined as self-reported routine bedtime later than 1:00 AM or having mid-sleep on free days later than 5:00 AM on the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire (MCTQ) or DLMO later than 24:00
  • Gastroesophageal reflux disease that affects ability to tolerate a dinner close to bedtime
  • Active smoking
  • Current drug or alcohol use or dependence that, in the opinion of the site investigator, would interfere with adherence to study requirements.
  • Diabetes (type 1 or 2) or on any diabetes medications besides metformin
  • Evidence of metabolic or cardiovascular disease, or disease that may influence metabolism (e.g. cancer, thyroid disease)
  • Hemoglobin A1c ≥5.7% for NWH cohort; Hemoglobin A1c ≥6.5% for OPD cohort
  • Hemoglobin \< 10 g/dL
  • Self-reported kidney disease
  • Any known history of an inherited metabolic disorder
  • Pregnant or lactating female (pregnancy test will be required prior to metabolic visits)
  • Peri-menopausal or post-menopausal female as determined by follicle stimulating hormone of \> 30 mIU/mL or fewer than 3 menstrual periods in 6 months
  • Professional or collegiate athlete
  • +17 more criteria

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (2)

Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center

Baltimore, Maryland, 21224, United States

RECRUITING

National Institutes of Health Clinical Center

Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States

NOT YET RECRUITING

Related Publications (2)

  • Gu C, Brereton N, Schweitzer A, Cotter M, Duan D, Borsheim E, Wolfe RR, Pham LV, Polotsky VY, Jun JC. Metabolic Effects of Late Dinner in Healthy Volunteers-A Randomized Crossover Clinical Trial. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2020 Aug 1;105(8):2789-802. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgaa354.

    PMID: 32525525BACKGROUND
  • Duan D, Gu C, Polotsky VY, Jun JC, Pham LV. Effects of Dinner Timing on Sleep Stage Distribution and EEG Power Spectrum in Healthy Volunteers. Nat Sci Sleep. 2021 May 14;13:601-612. doi: 10.2147/NSS.S301113. eCollection 2021.

    PMID: 34017207BACKGROUND

Related Links

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Prediabetic StateObesity

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Diabetes MellitusGlucose Metabolism DisordersMetabolic DiseasesNutritional and Metabolic DiseasesEndocrine System DiseasesOverweightOvernutritionNutrition DisordersBody WeightSigns and SymptomsPathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Officials

  • Jonathan Jun, MD

    Johns Hopkins University

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
  • Stephanie T Chung, MBBS

    National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Athena Mavronis

CONTACT

Mariah Potocki

CONTACT

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Purpose
BASIC SCIENCE
Intervention Model
CROSSOVER
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

February 8, 2023

First Posted

February 27, 2023

Study Start

July 5, 2023

Primary Completion (Estimated)

March 31, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

March 31, 2028

Last Updated

April 13, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will share

The investigators will provide raw data (without identifying information) to journals or other researchers upon request.

Shared Documents
STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF
Time Frame
The data will be provided upon request within 1 year after publication and will be available to indefinitely.
Access Criteria
The PI will accept requests from other researchers who are examining pertinent outcomes.

Locations