Sweet Consumption and Subsequent Sweet Food Preferences and Intakes

Not Applicable

• Conditions: Dietary Behaviour
• Interventions: Behavioral: Dietary Instructions

• Registration Number: NCT05672017
• Lead Sponsor: Bournemouth University

Brief Summary

This study will assess the effects of repeated sweet versus non-sweet food consumption on subsequent sweet and non-sweet food preferences and intakes.

Detailed Description

Participants will be randomized to receive instructions to either increase, decrease or make no change to sweet food consumption for 6 days, and impacts on food preferences and intakes will be assessed at baseline and after 1 week. Preferences for sweet and non-sweet foods will be assessed during a taste test at each assessment time, where six different foods will be rated. Sweet and non-sweet food consumption will also be measured at a subsequent breakfast at the assessment time. Buffet meals composed of sweet and non-sweet foods suitable for consumption at breakfast will be provided ad-libitum.

A subset of participants (selected at random) (10 participants randomized to increase sweet food consumption and 10 participants randomized to decrease sweet food consumption) will also be assessed via MRI and fMRI scanning to investigate brain structure and functional connectivity.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2023-01-03
• Study First Submitted QC: 2023-01-03
• Study First Posted: 2023-01-05
• Study Start: 2023-03-01
• Primary Completion: 2024-03-31
• Status Verified: 2024-05
• Last Update Submitted: 2024-05-16
• Last Update Posted: 2024-05-20
• Study Completion: 2024-12-31

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: ENROLLING_BY_INVITATION
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 80

Inclusion Criteria

1. aged 18-65 years;
2. habitually consume breakfast;
3. able to provide consent and complete all study materials;
4. able to attend Bournemouth University for testing.

Exclusion criteria:

1. individuals who are pregnant or breastfeeding;
2. underweight (BMI <18.5);
3. have pre-existing clinical conditions such as diabetes mellitus, eating disorders, Crohn's disease and other illness's leading to participants receiving external nutritional advice and dietary restrictions;
4. have pre-existing medical conditions affecting swallow ability, taste and smell perception;
5. currently or within 3 months of starting the study are following a specific dietary programme (e.g.: Slimming World);
6. current smokers or have smoked within 3 months of the study start date.

Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Dietary Instructions: Increase sweet food consumption	Dietary Instructions	Participants are asked to increase their consumption of sweet foods throughout their diet. Participants will be provided with clear instructions, where sweet foods will be highlighted and additional means of increasing sweet food consumption will be offered.
Dietary Instructions: Decrease sweet food consumption	Dietary Instructions	Participants are asked to decrease their consumption of sweet foods throughout their diet. Participants will be provided with clear instructions, where sweet foods will be highlighted and means of decreasing sweet food consumption will be offered.
Dietary Instructions: Usual Diet	Dietary Instructions	Participants are asked to retain their consumption of sweet foods throughout their diet.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Sweet food preferences	Baseline to week 1	Preferences for various sweet foods/fluids, assessed using a taste test, where participants sample several sweet and non-sweet foods and rate them for pleasantness on a 100mm Visual Analogue Scale. Higher scores signify stronger preferences
Sweet food choices	Baseline to week 1	Selection of sweet foods/fluids at a given meal, assessed where participants can consume freely from a meal composed of sweet and non-sweet foods, and proportion of sweet foods consumed is measured in terms of weight consumed

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Hunger and Thirst	Baseline to week 1	Ratings of subjective perceptions, assessed using 100mm VAS
Sweet food perceptions	Baseline to week 1	Perceptions for various sweet foods/fluids, assessed using a taste test, where participants sample several sweet and non-sweet foods and rate them for intensity on a 100mm Visual Analogue Scale. Higher scores signify stronger perceptions
MRI static brain scan (subset of participants only)	Baseline to week 1	Static brain scan gained from a 3-Tesla Siemens Magnetom Lumina scanner (Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany), used to investigate brain structure, where the anatomical structure (e.g. size, shape) of the brain, measured via surface area (mm squared), will be compared at baseline and week 1
fMRI composite functional brain scan (subset of participants only)	Baseline to week 1	Composite fMRI functional scan to investigate brain functionality and connectivity in response to a 10 min cognitive task, will be gained from a 3-Tesla Siemens Magnetom Lumina scanner (Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany), where patterns of activity will be measured using blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) contrast whole-brain functional images, acquired using a T2-weighted gradient-echo Echo Planar Imaging (EPI) sequence and a 32-channel head coil during a 10 min cognitive task, and will be compared at baseline and week 1 (for full details of this methodology see Yankouskaya A, et al., Biology, 2023, 12, 211.)

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Bournemouth University; 🇬🇧 Bournemouth, US And Canada Only, United Kingdom