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Effect of Ultra Processed Versus Unprocessed Diets on Energy Intake

Effect of Ultra Processed Versus Unprocessed Diets on Energy Intake

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03407053
Enrollment
20
Registered
2018-01-23
Start date
2018-03-01
Completion date
2020-02-26
Last updated
2021-06-29

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

Conditions

Healthy Diet

Keywords

Calories, Food Intake, Glucose, Body Composition, Body Weight Regulation

Brief summary

Background: Eating too much processed food is believed to lead to obesity. But the effect of processed food on energy intake has not been carefully studied. Researchers want to study people s diets for 4 weeks and do specialized tests of the effects. Participants will get two diets. They will have the same calories and nutrients, but one diet will be unprocessed food and the other will be ultra-processed. Objective: To better understand how processed and unprocessed foods affect daily food consumption and how the body handles blood sugar. Eligibility: Healthy adults ages 18-50 who have stable weight and can exercise Design: Participants will not eat for 12 hours. Then they will be screened with: * Medical history * Physical exam * Heart and blood tests * Resting energy expenditure test (REE). A hood will collect air exhaled while lying down for 30-40 minutes. * Psychiatric questions * Questions about mood, eating, sleep, and socioeconomic status * 20-minute stationary biking Female participants will have a urine pregnancy test. Participants will stay in the clinic for 4 weeks. For 2 weeks they will get a processed diet. For the other 2 weeks they will get an unprocessed diet. Participants cannot use the study period to gain or lose weight. Participants will have: * Meals and snacks provided * Daily exercise * Blood, urine, and saliva tests * To drink a special water and a very sweet liquid * REE * Scans and X-rays * To wear activity monitors and a device to measure blood sugar * Several 24-hour periods in a room that measures oxygen and carbon dioxide * Repeats of screening questions * Questions about hunger and meals * Sleep monitoring * Taste tests

Detailed description

Overconsumption of foods that result from extensive industrial processing is believed to contribute to the development of obesity. Ultra-processed foods now represent most of the calories consumed in America and their contribution to overall diet has increased in parallel with the rise in the prevalence of obesity over the past several decades. While such correlations are suggestive, the effect of industrial processing per se, independent of dietary macronutrient composition, on ad libitum energy intake has not been carefully investigated. Therefore, we will conduct feeding studies in adult men and women to investigate the differences in ad libitum energy intake resulting from consuming test diets for a pair of 2-week periods in a randomized, crossover design during a single 4-week period. The test diets presented to participants will be matched for calories, macronutrient composition, sugar, fiber, and sodium, but one diet will be composed of ultra-processed foods whereas the other diet will be unprocessed foods.

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTUltra-processed diet

Consuming ultra-processed diet over a 2-week period

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTUnprocessed diet

Consuming unprocessed diet over a 2-week period

Sponsors

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

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 50 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* INCLUSION CRITERIA: 1. Adults age 18-50 years, male and female 2. Weight stable (\< +/- 5 % over past 6 months) 4\. Body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 18 kg/m\^2 5\. Willing to cease their habitual caffeine intake during the study, beginning one week prior to inpatient admission 6\. Written informed consent 7\. Willing to eat the food provided in the study 8\. Able to complete daily bouts of stationary cycling at a moderate rate and intensity with a heart rate (HR) equal to or greater than 0.3x(220-age-HR(rest))+HR(rest) but not exceeding 0.4x(220-age-HR(rest))+HR(rest) and no signs of arrhythmia

Exclusion criteria

1. Evidence of metabolic or cardiovascular disease, or disease that may influence metabolism (e.g. cancer, diabetes, thyroid disease) 2. Taking any prescription medication or other drug that may influence metabolism (e.g. diet/weight-loss medication, asthma medication, blood pressure medication, psychiatric medications, corticosteroids, or other medications at the discretion of the PI and/or study team) 3. Hematocrit \< 34% (women only) 4. Hematocrit \< 40% (men only) 5. Pregnancy, lactation (women only) 6. Participating in a regular exercise program (\> 2h/week of vigorous activity) 7. Caffeine consumption \> 300 mg/day 8. Regular use of alcohol (\> 2 drinks per day), tobacco (smoking or chewing) amphetamines, cocaine, heroin, or marijuana over past 6 months 9. Eating disorders or psychological conditions, such as (but not limited to) claustrophobia, clinical depression, bi-polar disorders, that would be incompatible with safe and successful participation in this study, as determined by investigators. --Past or present history of claustrophobia since part of the protocol will involve being confined to a small room for whole-body indirect calorimetry and being in an MRI scanner for liver fat measures 10. Implants, devices, or foreign objects implanted in the body that interfere with the Magnetic Resonance procedures 11. Volunteers with strict dietary concerns (e.g. vegetarian or kosher diet, food allergies) 12. Volunteers unwilling or unable to give informed consent 13. Non-English speakers due to unavailability of required questionnaires in other languages.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Ad Libitum Energy Intake14 daysAd libitum energy intake averaged over 14 days for each diet, measured in kilocalories (kcal) per day.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in Fat MassBaseline and day 14Change in body fat mass from baseline to day 14 for each diet, measured in kilograms (kg). Body fat mass was measured using Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measurements.
Change in Body WeightBaseline and day 14Change in body weight from baseline to day 14 for each diet, measured in kilograms (kg)

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Ultra-processed Diet Then Unprocessed Diet
Participants assigned to this arm will consume ultra-processed diet for two weeks followed by unprocessed diet for two weeks Ultra-processed diet: Consuming ultra-processed diet over a 2-week period Unprocessed diet: Consuming unprocessed diet over a 2-week period
10
Unprocessed Diet Then Ultra-processed Diet
Participants assigned to this arm will consume unprocessed diet for two weeks followed by ultra-processed diet for two weeks Ultra-processed diet: Consuming ultra-processed diet over a 2-week period Unprocessed diet: Consuming unprocessed diet over a 2-week period
10
Total20

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicUltra-processed Diet Then Unprocessed DietUnprocessed Diet Then Ultra-processed DietTotal
Age, Continuous32.3 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 6.8
30.1 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 7.8
31.2 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 7.2
Body weight77.3 kg
STANDARD_DEVIATION 21.1
79.3 kg
STANDARD_DEVIATION 22.4
78.3 kg
STANDARD_DEVIATION 21.2
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Hispanic or Latino
3 Participants2 Participants5 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Not Hispanic or Latino
7 Participants8 Participants15 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Fat mass23.1 kg
STANDARD_DEVIATION 13.4
26.0 kg
STANDARD_DEVIATION 14.2
24.6 kg
STANDARD_DEVIATION 13.5
Race (NIH/OMB)
American Indian or Alaska Native
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Asian
1 Participants2 Participants3 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
4 Participants7 Participants11 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
More than one race
2 Participants0 Participants2 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
1 Participants0 Participants1 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
White
2 Participants1 Participants3 Participants
Region of Enrollment
United States
10 participants10 participants20 participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
4 Participants6 Participants10 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
6 Participants4 Participants10 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
0 / 200 / 20
other
Total, other adverse events
0 / 200 / 20
serious
Total, serious adverse events
0 / 200 / 20

Outcome results

Primary

Ad Libitum Energy Intake

Ad libitum energy intake averaged over 14 days for each diet, measured in kilocalories (kcal) per day.

Time frame: 14 days

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)Dispersion
Ultra-processed DietAd Libitum Energy Intake2963 kcal per dayStandard Error 74.3
Unprocessed DietAd Libitum Energy Intake2491 kcal per dayStandard Error 74.3
Secondary

Change in Body Weight

Change in body weight from baseline to day 14 for each diet, measured in kilograms (kg)

Time frame: Baseline and day 14

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)Dispersion
Ultra-processed DietChange in Body Weight0.94 kgStandard Error 0.31
Unprocessed DietChange in Body Weight-0.91 kgStandard Error 0.31
Secondary

Change in Fat Mass

Change in body fat mass from baseline to day 14 for each diet, measured in kilograms (kg). Body fat mass was measured using Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measurements.

Time frame: Baseline and day 14

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)Dispersion
Ultra-processed DietChange in Fat Mass0.43 kgStandard Error 0.11
Unprocessed DietChange in Fat Mass-0.28 kgStandard Error 0.11

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 25, 2026