
Effect of KETOgenic Diet on Metabolism, Inflammation, Nutrition Deficiencies and OXidative Stress...
Overweight and ObesityIn recent times, the prevalence of obesity increases, reaching an epidemic scale. Elevated body weight is a risk factor in the development of several diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cancer. Therefore, obesity management solutions, such as diet therapy are needed. The key issue is to choose the most appropriate diet to obtain an efficient outcome in losing weight, without experiencing adverse effects and a decrease in general health. A ketogenic diet, an auxiliary therapy for epilepsy, is recently one of the options commonly used for losing weight by overweight individuals, tempted by the commercials and internet influencers. However, there is limited knowledge about the effect of this diet on human health. To date, the majority of studies were conducted with a very-low-calorie regime applied before the bariatric surgeries, which itself may affect the loss of body weight, and in most studies, the control diets were missing. Taking into consideration that a ketogenic diet is an extremely eliminating diet, there is a risk of nutritional deficiencies after following it. Therefore, there is a strong need for more in-depth and comprehensive elucidation of the safety and physiological effects of the ketogenic diet used for the weight loss in overweight and obese individuals. This Project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the eight-week, isocaloric, energy-restricted, ketogenic diet as a weight management solution in women with overweight and obesity compared to the standard, balanced diet with the same calorie content.

Insulin Detemir in Obesity Management
DiabetesObesityThe purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of the medication insulin detemir on weight, brain function and mood, and on blood vessel and other risk factors for heart disease. The study will compare how diet and insulin detemir affect areas of the brain that are involved in food intake and the sense of pleasure people get from eating. Participants will be randomized into one of 2 groups. Group 1 will follow a low calorie diet only. Group 2 will follow a low calorie diet and take insulin detemir. The study is 26 weeks in length and include outpatient visits, inpatient visits, phone and email contact, questionnaires, diary collection, blood draw and procedures involving MRI and PET scans. There are 4 inpatient visits at the Vanderbilt Clinical Research Center (CRC). The inpatient visits require a one night 2 day stay on the CRC at Weeks 2, 6, 16, 26. During the weekly and bi-weekly outpatient visits participants will meet with the study nurse and dietitian.

Impact of an Integrated Obesity Management System on Patient's Care
ObesityThe investigators developed a program aimed at enhancing primary care physician (PCP) teams' expertise, self-efficacy and attitudes with respect to obesity management. The investigators implemented and evaluated this obesity management system based on a preceptorship combined with a virtual learning community favouring continuous support of family medicine groups (FMGs, Groupes de Médecine Familiale) by a team of experts in obesity management; significant improvements regarding their attitudes and perception of self-efficacy were observed immediately after the preceptorship and maintained after one year. Furthermore, the investigators observed significant changes in their practice that were maintained one year later. The investigators hypothesize that their program combining preceptorships with a virtual community will improve: (1) management and weight loss of obese/overweight subjects who are treated by PCPs for hypertension (HTN), type 2 diabetes (DM2) or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT); and (2) screening and initial management of obesity among unselected patients of PCPs who practice in FMGs.

Increasing Food Literacy in Preschoolers to Reduce Obesity Risk
Food PreferencesFood Selection4 moreThe goal of this clinical trial is to examine the effects of a nutrition education program on preschool children's food literacy and food acceptance, and to examine the added influence of a healthy eating curriculum and parent education on children's food knowledge and healthful food choices. The project will be evaluated with 450 children ages 3 to 5 years in center-based childcare programs serving predominantly Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)-eligible families in Pennsylvania. Outcomes for children who receive the added healthy eating curriculum will be compared to children in classrooms that only receive the nutrition education program.

Renal Hemodynamics, Energetics and Insulin Resistance: A Follow-up Study
Type 2 DiabetesDiabetes Type 25 moreThe current protocol plans to enroll participants with youth-onset Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) as well as obese and lean controls from the Renal-HEIR - Renal Hemodynamics, Energetics and Insulin Resistance in Youth Onset Type 2 Diabetes Study (n=100) [COMIRB #16-1752] in a prospective investigation that seeks to 1) define the changes in kidney function by gold standard techniques and energetics by functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in adolescents with and without T2D as they transition to young adulthood; 2) quantify kidney oxidative metabolism by 11C-acetate Positron Emission Tomography (PET) in a subset of participants who are ≥18 years of age with youth-onset T2D and/or obesity; 3) determine peripheral arterial stiffness by SphygmoCor. Mechanistic insight will be provided by transcriptomic analyses of repeat biopsies 3-years after their initial biopsy for eligible participants with youth-onset T2D, as well as molecular analysis of tissue obtained from J-wire endovascular biopsies. This study will also leverage this well-characterized cohort of youths to define youth-onset T2D-related changes in brain morphology and function by structural MRI and resting-state functional MRI and through the assessment of cognitive function (fluid and crystallized intelligence) using the NIH Toolbox Cognitive Battery (NIHTB-CB), as an exploratory objective. All enrollees in Renal-HEIR have consented to be contacted for future research opportunities.

Comparing the Effects of Exercise on the Structure and Function of Fat Tissue
AdiposityAssess differences in structure and biological function of abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue samples collected from adults who exercise regularly vs. a well-matched cohort of non-exercisers.

Cognitive Impairment, Obesity, and the Effects of Bariatric Surgery
ObesityMorbid1 moreStudy is designed to screen psychological cognitive baseline and retention/improvement after weight loss surgery.

Fixed Dose Combination of Fluoxetin and Metformin in the Management of Overweight and Obesity
Overweight and ObesityClinical trial, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, comparative of three parallel groups, randomized treatment to assess the efficacy and safety using a fixed dose combination of metformin hydrochloride with fluoxetine as adjunctive treatment in patient with obesity or overweight in order to generate new knowledge and give a greater number of therapeutic options to the clinicians, one group will receive metformin 1700 mg and 40 mg of fluoxetine; Another group will receive metformin 1000 mg with 40 mg of fluoxetine, and a third group called control will receive placebo. The above described treatments will be administered according to the "Dosage Schedule" The three groups will receive tablets of physical characteristics equal to the reference drug to preserve the blinding.

Genetic Determinants and Clinical Consequences of Early-onset Severe Obesity
Childhood ObesityThe aim of the present study is to identify new obesity-related genetic defects and determine their association with clinical manifestations in families with childhood-onset severe obesity. The investigators hypothesize that by exploring children with severe early-onset obesity they can find new obesity-related genetic defects and by exploring obesity-associated clinical manifestations the investigators can elucidate the outcomes of severe childhood obesity.

Treating Binge Eating and Obesity Digitally in Black Women
Binge EatingBinge-Eating Disorder2 moreMore than 30% of Black women with obesity binge eat. Binge eating may increase the risk for the development of metabolic syndrome and binge-eating-disorder (BED), which is associated with severe obesity. Though several effective treatments for binge eating exist, Black women have not fared well. Not only has their inclusion in treatment trials been limited, but when participating, they are more likely to drop out, and/or lose less weight, compared to their White counterparts. Furthermore, treatment for binge eating is often not available in primary care and community-based settings places where Black women are more likely to receive treatment for their eating and weight-related concerns. Currently, there is scant intervention research to treat binge eating in Black women. With the highest rates of obesity (57%) nationally, Black women are in need of culturally-relevant treatments for binge eating and weight gain prevention. Given the established relationship between frequent binge eating and subsequent weight gain, addressing binge eating among Black women with obesity is imperative.