Active clinical trials for "Body Weight"

The L-carnitine has demonstrated effects in the treatment of obesity mainly promoting the fat degradation during exercise.

This research is to develop a weight loss and weight maintenance program through dietary modifications for adults with obesity. Although scientific studies have shown the feasibility of rapid and safe dietary weight loss and subsequent weight maintenance, no efficacious dietary weight management program is widely available, and thus bariatric surgery remains the most reliable approach for weight loss/management. Safe and effective dietary weight loss and subsequent weight maintenance require flexible, individualized advice by an experienced dietitian/nutritionist.

The epidemic of overweight and obese patients presents a major challenge in chronic disease prevention and overall health across the world. Since the beginning of this century, it is considered the third most important hazard attributable to burden of disease with approximately 350 million obese people (BMI ≥30.0) and over 1 billion overweight people (BMI ≥ 25) in the world. Mechanistic studies have indicated that the microbiota influences energy utilization from the diet and influences host genes that regulate energy expenditure and storage. Thus, it is proposed that alterations in gut microbiota may play a significant role in weight loss potential. This study seeks to expand on this idea by evaluating whether the incorporation of Rifaximin in an intermittent fasting (IF) diet plays a significant role in weight loss. Rifaximin is a nonsystemic antibiotic that works primarily in the gut to inhibit bacterial growth. It portrays unique eubiotic properties that induces a positive modulation of gut microbiota, favoring the growth of bacteria beneficial to the host without altering overall composition. Thus we propose an agent such as rifaximin would be essential in developing a positively altered gut microbiome. Based on studies evaluating Rifaximin's role in positive gut modification, we propose that this can play a critical role in weight loss. Rifaximin may be associated with weight loss as it exerts effects that increases the concentration of bacteria more prominent in lean individuals. The choice of incorporating an intermittent fasting (IF) diet, stems from its success in prior studies. By incorporating periods of voluntary abstinence from food and drink, an IF diet has shown short term weight loss among overweight and obese people. We propose that an IF diet with an antibiotic, like Rifaximin, will create more positive alteration in gut microbiota that creates a greater potential for weight loss overall. A group of subjects with BMI's ranging from 30-35 will be randomly selected and assigned to an experimental and control group. Each subject will be given clear instructions on how to follow a 14:10 intermittent fasting diet, in which they will fast for 14 hours and be able to eat for 10 hours a day. Patients in the experiment group will additionally receive a short-term low dosage of Rifaximin at the start of their diet. Patients will be evaluated with weekly weigh-ins and basic blood work performed at the start and at the completion of the study. The current hypothesis does not incorporate microbiome evaluation due to cost of the kits and limited funding available for the study.

A nutrition trial which is based on the evidence that multivitamins & micro nutrients provided during pregnancy in malnourished women will improve neonatal birth weight. There will be two arms. Arm one will provide energy dense biscuits to pregnant women with BMI <20 & gestational age less than 14 weeks. The other arm with same criteria will be provided with wheat flour, oil, iron & folic acid. Neonatal birth weight is the primary outcome of interest but maternal weight gain, maternal hemoglobin & ferritin levels and palatability of biscuits will also be assessed.

The purpose of this study is to find out if special blood tests and imaging scans can help evaluate the effects of the radiation the patient receives as part of standard treatment. The patient will undergo either stereotactic or conventional radiation treatment as determined by the treating doctor. Previous evidence suggests that blood flow to tumors is affected by the amount (dose) of radiation that it receives. This effect may be seen as soon as 1-2 hours after the radiation is given. This study will evaluate if these changes can be seen and measured by performing a special type of scan called Intravoxel Incoherent Motion (IVIM) diffusion-weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and a blood test. IVIM MRI is a research exam which is similar to a standard MRI exam, with only a slight difference in the technical parameters used to acquire the images.

A self administered 16 weeks plus follow up study to explore the efficacy of mobile phone driven apps for stress reduction coupled with guidance for healthy living among obese and overweight populations. The Study primary end points are weight of the participants, as well as glucose measurements (for subject with diabetes) and blood pressure (of subjects with hypertension).

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is defined by presence of hepatic steatosis (fat accumulation in liver cells), either by imaging or by biopsy and absence of causes for secondary hepatic fat accumulation such as significant alcohol consumption, medications, or hereditary disorders. In the majority of patients, NAFLD is associated with risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as obesity, diabetes mellitus, and high cholesterol, and may lead to irreversible liver damage. Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a more severe form of NAFLD and is present in up to 30% of obese adults. NASH is defined by hepatic steatosis and inflammation with hepatocyte injury with or without fibrosis (hardening of the liver). The prevalence, morbidity and mortality of NAFLD is increasing, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region where there will be an estimated 300 million obese people by 2030. Weight loss is the first-line treatment for NAFLD in obese individuals, but the utility of lifestyle modification with diet and exercise is limited by difficulties in sustaining compliance and by eventual weight regain. Bariatric (weight loss) surgery produces the greatest amount of weight loss but is limited by cost, patient acceptance, and complications. The efficacy of drugs for NASH, such as vitamin E and medication to lower cholesterol and glucose, remains unclear. Liraglutide, a glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) analogue, is an injectable medication which has been shown to induce weight loss and lower glucose in obese adults. There is little information on the effects of GLP-1 analogues on NASH, particularly in comparison to other modalities of weight loss such as surgery. This study aims to compare the efficacy and safety of lifestyle modification, liraglutide and surgery, for weight loss in conjunction with reducing severity of NASH, and for insulin resistance, high cholesterol and other cardiovascular risk factors.

Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. From 1980 to 2008, the prevalence of obesity among adolescents aged 12 to 18 years, increased from 5.0% to 18.1%.1 Although several pediatric weight management programs are available, access to these programs may not always be possible. The proposed study will be an ongoing research program with approximately 40 children ages 12-18 years enrolled into the study over a year. All study participants will participate in a baseline evaluation which will include body composition measures, aerobic testing, as well as nutrition and physical activity questionnaires. Study participants will be assigned to the clinic-based group. The clinic- based group will participate in a 12-week multi-disciplinary weight management program. All study participants will then participate in a 12-week follow-up evaluation similar to the baseline visit. New participants will be enrolled every 12 weeks. Every 12 weeks, active participants (those that have completed a minimum of 12 weeks) will have the option to continue in the program or, discontinue their active participation in the program and enroll into the maintenance phase which will consist of measures only every 12 weeks. The objective of the proposed study includes examining the efficacy of the clinic-based, multi-disciplinary, pediatric weight management program.

Standard weight-based IV heparin for normal weight patients is based on actual body weight (ABW). However, no well-defined guidelines have been established for patients considered to be obese or morbidly obese. In current practice, the calculated ABW based heparin initial bolus dose and infusion rates are quite high, and therefore often not used for obese/morbidly obese patients for fear of bleeding. Heparin is distributed in the body approximately the same as blood and does not get distributed to adipose tissue. There are some studies suggesting that lean body weight (LBW) might be a better basis for dosing heparin. LBW is a calculated weight that excludes the weight of fat. The investigators hypothesize that intravenous heparin dosing based on the Lean body weight of obese/morbidly obese patients would be safe and effective in achieving a therapeutic level of heparin in 24 hours compared to the usual practice in this patient population.

The purpose of this study is to examine whether auricular acupressure is effective in reducing body weight, waist circumference, or lipid profile.