Skip to content

High-fat Overfeeding, Hepatokines and Appetite Regulation

Influence of High-fat Overfeeding on Circulating Hepatokine Concentrations: a Randomised Crossover Study

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03369145
Acronym
OVEREAT
Enrollment
12
Registered
2017-12-11
Start date
2017-12-11
Completion date
2018-07-31
Last updated
2019-02-18

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Insulin Resistance, Type2 Diabetes Mellitus, Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Obesity

Keywords

Hepatokines, High Fat Diet, Glycaemic Control, Fibroblast Growth Factor 21, Leukocyte Cell-derived Chemotaxin 2, Fetuin-A, Appetite, Ghrelin, Peptide YY

Brief summary

The present study will investigate the effect of high-fat overfeeding on a group of liver-secreted proteins linked to worsened blood sugar control, as well as proteins involved in appetite control. Participants will consume both a high-fat diet, consisting of 50% extra calories above their daily required intake, and a control diet, consisting of their normal 'habitual' diet, with each diet lasting seven days. The diets will be undertaken in a randomised order, with a period of three weeks separating the two diets. Blood samples will be taken before and after each diet to measure blood sugar control. Further blood samples will also be taken 24 hours and 72 hours into each diet to see how levels of the liver and appetite-regulating proteins change over the course of the seven days. It is expected that blood sugar control will be worsened by the high-fat diet and this will be accompanied by increases in levels of the liver-secreted proteins and an impaired release of the appetite-regulating proteins into the blood.

Detailed description

In recent years, researchers have identified a number of liver-secreted proteins, termed hepatokines, which are thought to play an important role in inter-organ crosstalk between the liver and other metabolically active tissues such as skeletal muscle and adipose tissue. Specifically, previous studies have demonstrated that hepatokines contribute to whole body glucose and lipid homeostasis through acting in an endocrine-like fashion. Understanding how circulating concentrations of these hepatokines can be manipulated in humans is essential, as impaired blood glucose and lipid control is a key feature of metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Previous research at Loughborough University has found that acute high-fat overfeeding for up to seven days can impair glycaemic control; however, the exact mechanisms responsible for these detrimental changes are not fully understood. Based upon previous evidence that hepatokine production is nutritionally modulated, the investigators believe that changes in hepatokine production may play a role in the detrimental metabolic effects seen following short-term, high-fat overfeeding which has implications for long-term metabolic health. Appetite regulation is also thought to play a role in the pathophysiology of obesity and insulin resistance, as the impaired secretion of several appetite regulatory hormones in both fasting and postprandial conditions has been observed in obesity, which is characterised by an chronic excessive energy intake. Therefore, the investigators are also interested to examine the appetite regulatory hormone response to short-term, high-fat overfeeding. The present study is a randomised, controlled, crossover study in which twelve recreationally active, healthy males will consume both a hypercaloric, high-fat diet (consisting of 50% extra energy above the daily requirement, 65% of which is fat) and a control diet (the participants' habitual diet) in a randomised fashion. A three-week washout period will separate the two diets in order to remove any lasting effects confounding the subsequent diet. Following a prescreening session in which anthropometric data will be collected, participants will commence their first dietary condition. An oral glucose tolerance test will be performed before and after the two diets to measure changes in glycaemic control/whole body insulin sensitivity. Further blood samples will be taken 24 hours and 72 hours after commencing the diets in order to observe the time course of any changes in circulating hepatokine and appetite hormone concentrations. Physical activity will also be monitored for the duration of the two dietary conditions to ensure that habitual physical activity levels are maintained.

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTHigh-fat diet

The high-fat diet will provide 7 days of overfeeding comprising of: +50% extra calories above the daily required intake, 65% of which is fat.

Sponsors

Nottingham Trent University
CollaboratorOTHER
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
CollaboratorOTHER
Loughborough University
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE

Intervention model description

The study design is a randomised, controlled, crossover design in which participants undertake two 7-day dietary conditions in a randomised order with a three week washout period in between.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
MALE
Age
18 Years to 40 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Recreationally active - ≤ 2 structured exercise sessions per week * BMI between 18.5 - 27.9 kg/m2 * Body fat percentage \< 20% * Metabolically healthy - No known cardiovascular or metabolic disease such as diabetes, respiratory or heart disease. * Non-smoker * Weight stable in the past 6 months * Normal fasting blood glucose levels (3.6 - 5.5 mmol/l)

Exclusion criteria

* Contraindications to exercise * Needle Phobia

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Leukocyte cell-derived chemotaxin 2 (LECT2)Baseline, 1 day, 3 days, 7 daysTime-course of LECT2 plasma concentrations across the 7-day dietary interventions

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Fetuin-ABaseline, 1 day, 3 days, 7 daysTime-course of Fetuin-A plasma concentrations across the 7-day dietary interventions
Acylated ghrelinBaseline, 1 day, 3 days, 7 daysTime-course of acylated ghrelin plasma concentrations across the 7-day dietary interventions
Peptide YY (PYY)Baseline, 1 day, 3 days, 7 daysTime-course of PYY plasma concentrations across the 7-day dietary interventions
C-Terminal Telopeptide of Type 1 Collagen (CTX)Baseline, 1 day, 3 days, 7 daysTime-course of CTX plasma concentrations across the 7-day dietary interventions
N-Terminal Propeptide of Type 1 Procollagen (P1NP)Baseline, 1 day, 3 days, 7 daysTime-course of P1NP plasma concentrations across the 7-day dietary interventions
Visual Analogue Scale for Subjective Ratings of AppetiteBaseline, 1 day, 3 days, 7 daysTime-course of subjective ratings of hunger across the 7-day dietary interventions, measured using an appetite visual analogue scale. The scale is divided into subscales of different appetite perceptions including: hunger, fullness, satisfaction and prospective food consumption. Each subscale is rated on a 100mm scale (i.e. from 0 - 100), with a rating of 100 fully supporting the perception and a rating of 0 fully opposing the perception.
Subjective food preferenceBaseline, 1 day, 3 days, 7 daysTime-course of subjective food preference across the 7-day dietary interventions, measured using the Leeds Food Preference Questionnaire.
Whole-body insulin sensitivityBaseline, 7 DaysChanges in whole-body insulin sensitivity using the Matsuda Index, calculated from plasma glucose and insulin concentrations during the oral glucose tolerance test
Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21)Baseline, 1 day, 3 days, 7 daysTime-course of FGF21 plasma concentrations across the 7-day dietary interventions
Adipose tissue insulin resistance (ADIPO-IR)Baseline, 1 day, 3 days, 7 daysChanges in ADIPO-IR using baseline concentrations of plasma insulin and non-esterified free fatty acids.
Physical activity and sedentary behaviour7 days (per diet)Amounts of sitting time, standing time, light activity and moderate-vigorous activity will be measured across the duration of each diets to compare between the two. This will be Measured using Acitgraph and ActivPAL monitors.
Resting Metabolic RateBaseline, 7 DaysChanges in resting metabolic rate in response to the diets will be measured using indirect calorimetry and estimated using the Haldane transformation.
Fat OxidationBaseline, 7 DaysChanges in fat oxidation in response to the diets will be measured using indirect calorimetry and estimated using the Haldane transformation.
Blood pressureBaseline, 1 day, 3 days, 7 daysChanges in blood pressure (systolic and diastolic) across the two dietary interventions will be measured using an automated pressure cuff.
Body weightBaseline, 1 day, 3 days, 7 daysChanges in body weight across the two dietary interventions.
Body fat percentageBaseline, 7 DaysChanges in body fat percentage across the two dietary interventions using bioelectrical impedance analysis.
Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR)Baseline, 1 day, 3 days, 7 daysChanges in HOMA-IR (a marker of hepatic insulin resistance) using baseline concentrations of plasma glucose and insulin.

Countries

United Kingdom

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 27, 2026