Undernutrition, Underweight
Conditions
Brief summary
This is a pilot study of children attending the Glasgow feeding clinic (GFC) which looks after children with severe feeding problems who commonly have low appetite and extreme thinness. The investigators want to find out if thin children respond to food in the same way, using an established method to assess energy compensation.
Detailed description
Thinness occurs as a result of undereating, but it is not always clear why an individual child has not eaten enough, or how to get them to eat more. There is a need to understand the child characteristics that predispose to undereating and the how these operate, in order to design more effective treatment and prevention programmes. The Glasgow feeding clinic (GFC) looks after a range of children with severe feeding problems who commonly have low appetite and extreme thinness. A Ghanaian student will come to Glasgow, funded by the Glasgow University /Scottish funding council Global Challenges Research fund, to learn these techniques to use in future PhD research. The student will conduct a pilot study of children attending the GFC. The student will invite 40 families to complete our standardised online questionnaire (ICFET) about their child's eating behaviour and collate existing growth measurements as well as their feeding history. A standardised energy compensation study will then be undertaken in 20 of the thinnest children. At two visits at least a week apart, the children will be given one of two similar tasting drinks in random order, one with very few calories and another with extra, without them knowing which is which. After 30 minutes they will eat as much as they want of a standardized lunch. All foods and drinks offered will be weighed before and after, to calculate the amount of energy eaten in total after the low energy drink, compared to the high energy drink.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALHigh Energy preload
Tests the extent to which participants reduce their intake at a meal following ingestion of a high energy preload drink
BEHAVIORALLow energy preload
Tests the amount participants eat at a meal following ingestion of a low energy preload drink
BEHAVIORALTest meal
Test meal to follow low or high energy preload
Sponsors
University of Stirling
University of Ghana
University of Glasgow
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Outcomes Assessor)
Masking description
Two similar tasting drinks will be used in random order, one low and one high energy After a standardised meal, the weight of food consumed will be measured by an observer blind to which supplement has been used
Intervention model description
cross-over energy compensation study, participants acting as their own controls
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
1 Years to 7 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Currently attending Glasgow Feeding Clinic or seen within the last 2 years. * Completed ICFET questionnaire and eating solid food at least weekly. * Body mass index \< 9th centile. * Within 40 minutes car travel from study centre
Exclusion criteria
* Patient or family member shielding from COVID. * Not able to swallow safely * Not taking solid foods * Fully tube fed: i.e. receiving more than 75% of energy requirements from tube feeding. No measurements
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Compensation index | Calculated on day 8, after consumption of 2nd test meal | The difference in energy consumed after high compared to low energy preload as percent of energy in preload |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| total energy consumed per study day | Calculated on day 8, after consumption of 2nd test meal | The total amount of energy consumed form preload plus meal after high compared to low energy preload |
Countries
United Kingdom
Outcome results
None listed