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Completed Not applicable Interventional Accepts healthy volunteers

Weight Stigma Effect on Neural Control of Appetite

ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03934424

Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT03934424. Field values are reproduced from the official study page; the official ClinicalTrials.gov record remains the source of truth for eligibility, enrollment, and contact information.

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Data is sourced from official ClinicalTrials.gov public API records. Always review the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for the latest information.

Official title

Exposure to Weight Stigmatization Content: Neural Correlations With Appetite Control, Social Support, Mood and Weight Stigma Experiences

Brief summary

Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.

The limited data available suggest that exposure to weight-based stigmatization leads to overeating and increased desire for food. In the present study, overweight and obese individuals (BMI from 25-35 kg/m2) who are generally healthy will be randomized to read a weight-stigma article or control article and subsequently scanned to collect fMRI data. These procedures will be employed to accomplish two specific aims. Specific Aim 1: Determine the neural mechanisms involved in exposure to weight stigma on central control of appetite in overweight and obese individuals. To accomplish this aim we will collect fMRI data in study participants when viewing food and scenery pictures after being exposed to either a weight-stigma or control article. In addition, participants will complete validated questionnaires to measure perceived weight-stigma experiences and social support for eating and physical activity. Hypothesis: After reading an article depicting weight stigmatization, when shown pictures of food in the fMRI scanner, overweight/obese individuals that perceive themselves as having experienced higher levels of weight stigma and lower levels of social support, will have higher activations of brain regions that control appetite and food reward (amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex, striatum, insula) and reduced activations in brain areas that regulate self-control and decision making (prefrontal cortex and cingulate cortex respectively) compared to a control group that reads a non-weight stigma article. Specific Aim 2: To assess the relationship between activity in appetitive and self-control brain regions and self-reported, eating-related behavior. To accomplish this aim, participants will also complete questionnaires that measure self-reported food intake motivation (dietary restraint, disinhibition and hunger), appetitive responses, and mood. Hypothesis: Higher activations in appetite and reward regions and lower activations in self-control brain regions will be correlated with higher levels of dietary disinhibition, hunger/appetite, and dietary restraint.

Study identification

NCT ID
NCT03934424
Recruitment status
Completed
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Not applicable
Enrollment
40 participants

Conditions and interventions

Interventions

Behavioral

Eligibility (public fields only)

Age range
18 Years to 55 Years
Sex
All
Healthy volunteers
Accepts healthy volunteers

This page does not interpret eligibility. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record.

Study timeline

Start date
Apr 9, 2019
Primary completion
Jul 24, 2019
Completion
Jul 24, 2019
Last update posted
Oct 26, 2020

2019

United States locations

U.S. sites
1
U.S. states
1
U.S. cities
1
Facility City State ZIP Site status
University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia Missouri 65212

Site contact phone numbers, emails, and investigator names are intentionally not displayed here. Open the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for site contact information.

About this trial record page

What this page shows
Public field values for ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT03934424, including study identification, conditions, interventions, eligibility (age, sex, healthy volunteer), timeline, and U.S. site list.
What this page does not do
No medical advice, eligibility judgments, treatment recommendations, study quality scoring, or AI-generated medical summaries. No site contact phone numbers, emails, or investigator names.
Where the data comes from
Sourced from the official ClinicalTrials.gov public API. The official record is the source of truth.
Last refresh
Last update posted Oct 26, 2020 · Synced Sep 5, 2026

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Open the official record

The complete protocol, eligibility criteria, and contact information for NCT03934424 live on ClinicalTrials.gov.

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