Active clinical trials for "Overweight"

Excessive weight gain during pregnancy, particularly in overweight and obese women, predisposes to adverse perinatal outcomes and has long term effects on maternal and neonatal health. With an inverse relationship between socioeconomic status and obesity, significant health disparities exist between obese and normal weight women. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently revised its gestational weight gain recommendations, targeted to pregravid body mass index (BMI), to minimize pregnancy complications. However, these recommendations are based on cross sectional observational studies and neither the ideal method to achieve weight gain goals nor whether perinatal outcome is optimized with active management of weight gain is known. The investigators propose to investigate a behavioral incentive-based intervention to improve compliance with IOM weight gain recommendations during pregnancy in low-income overweight and obese women. The investigators will evaluate if 1) gestational weight gain can be reliably targeted to the IOM recommendations and 2) active weight gain management during pregnancy improves perinatal outcomes. Two study groups will be compared in a prospective randomized trial; 1) those receiving standard obstetrical care and 2) those receiving behavioral weight management counseling plus financial incentives for achieving weight gain goals. The main outcome measure will be the percentage of women gaining within the IOM recommendations based on prepregnancy BMI. Secondary outcomes evaluated will include fetal growth and body composition changes, birth weight and the rate of cesarean delivery. The investigators hypothesize that 1) the behavioral intervention with incentives will result in greater compliance to IOM guidelines for gestational weight gain than standard care and 2) targeting weight gain to the IOM guidelines will lead to a reduction in the rates of fetal macrosomia and cesarean delivery. Finally, cost effectiveness of treatment conditions will be examined. This intervention, if efficacious and cost-effective, has the potential to improve compliance with gestational weight gain guidelines, optimize perinatal outcomes, and reduce health disparities.

The effect of Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) or inactivity on insulin sensitivity and lipid metabolism is unclear. Research recently published shows that activities associated with everyday activities, summarized as NEAT, such as walking and standing, have a much greater role in energy expenditure than exercise. Therefore, the objective of the present study is to evaluate the effect of 4 days of inactivity (mainly sitting), 4 days of everyday activities (sitting, walking and standing), and 4 days of inactivity and exercise (sitting and biking) on glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity using an oral glucose tolerance test, and on lipid metabolism in sedentary, overweight people. The investigators hypothesize that: 4 days of everyday activities (NEAT) will cause an increased glucose tolerance and increased insulin sensitivity compared to 4 days of inactivity in sedentary, overweight people. 4 days of exercise will improve glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity more than 4 days of NEAT with equal energy expenditure, in sedentary, overweight people. Fasting triglyceride will have the same course as glucose, mentioned in 1. and 2.

Objectives Taking a 'whole foods' approach, we will investigate (i) whether consumption of isocaloric diets containing ≥4 vs. ≤1 servings of dairy products per day for 16 weeks results in greater body fat loss in energy-restricted overweight/obese premenopausal women; (ii) the role of dairy product consumption in influencing physiological and metabolic factors which may precede or accompany changes in body composition, including in enzymes which synthesize and break down body fat; and (iii) factors, including obesity phenotype, which may influence the response of body composition to dairy product consumption. Background With the obesity epidemic showing no signs of abating, there is ongoing interest, both at the lay public and scientific levels, in manipulating the diet to promote weight, specifically fat, loss. One such promising manipulation is an increase in, or perhaps more precisely, an isocaloric substitution of, dairy product consumption. The inverse association between Body Mass Index (BMI) and dietary calcium - for which dairy products are the main source - was first described in 1984 and has since been supported by various levels of evidence, but not consistently. Heaney recently described this literature as "confused," which he and Rafferty attribute to important limitations in study design, including lack of low-calcium contrast groups and the fact that body weight/body composition is often a secondary endpoint in studies designed and powered for a different outcome, typically bone health or blood pressure. Confusion has also arisen from the investigation of different interventions (dairy products, dairy calcium, dietary calcium, supplemental calcium), making it difficult to compare and interpret studies. This creates an opportunity for the proposed Dairy and Weight Loss (DAWL) study, with its focus on whole dairy product consumption, to help clear up the confusion surrounding this issue. **Hypotheses Overweight/obese, low habitual dairy consuming, premenopausal women randomized to an energy-restricted weight loss diet containing ≥4 servings/day of dairy products (milk, yogurt, cheese) for 16 weeks will lose more body fat than those randomized to an isocaloric diet containing ≤1 servings/day of dairy products.

The investigators investigated the effect of vitamin D3 supplementation on metabolic profile (anthropometric measures, blood pressure Lipids, lipoproteins and glycemic indices) in overweight or obese women.

The aim of this study is to develop an intervention that will produce a sustained improvement in physical activity and chronic stress as a means to slow the menopause-related accumulation of visceral adipose tissue in mid-life women.

About 17% of Chinese American preschool children are obese, compared to 12.4%of all children from age three to five years residing in the US; the prevalence of obesity is expected to increase in the future. Therefore, the proposed study will adapt a home-based and technology-centered childhood obesity prevention program for low-income Chinese American mothers of children three to five years old. The aims of the study are to assess the feasibility of the intervention and estimate the effect sizes on children's and mothers' outcomes.

Evidence is accumulating that peanut consumption confers health benefits, such as reduction of cardiovascular disease risk and possibly diabetes risk (Jenkins et al., 2008; Mattes et al., 2008). However, peanuts are a high fat, energy dense food and concerns about weight gain are widespread. Although research indicates that other characteristics of peanuts offset these properties, and that peanuts may be incorporated into diets without posing a threat to weight gain (Mattes et al., 2008), concern remains among policymakers, healthcare providers, and consumers. Furthermore, worry exists that eating salted peanuts may elevate blood pressure and that eating honey-roasted peanuts make elevate blood sugar. These fears create substantial obstacles to increased peanut consumption. Recommendations to increase peanut consumption may be made, but if they are not followed, there will be no impact on health. Additional knowledge is needed on: (1) the acceptability of peanuts consumed on a chronic basis, (2) the chronic intake of moderate levels of peanuts and body weight, and 3) the effects of peanuts on blood pressure and blood sugar. The proposed research will examine the acceptability of long-term inclusion of a single form versus varied forms of peanuts in the diet. It is expected that responses will be varied among individuals with different personality characteristics (e.g., prefer sweet versus savory foods, hedonic versus non-hedonic eaters). A better understanding of how different segments of the population choose to include peanuts in their diet and how to optimize long-term consumption should provide insights for better marketing and improved health. Furthermore, it is anticipated that eating salty peanuts will not raise blood pressure and that eating honey-roasted peanuts will not raise blood sugar. Documenting this will add credibility to the evidence that peanuts do not cause weight gain, as well as reinforce recommendations to increase peanut consumption for their health benefits.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) represent the most frequent cause of death among the elderly population. Hypertension, unfavorable lipid profile, obesity and physical inactivity are among the main risk factors for CVD. In contrast, mortality from CVD is inversely related to levels of physical activity, and is lower in individuals who exercise and have higher functional fitness levels. Thus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American College of Sports Medicine, and the American Heart Association have recommended 20-30 min of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic training for the elderly, preferably every day or at least 3 days a week in the case of vigorous exercise.The same organizations also suggest the inclusion of resistance training in order to improve functional fitness. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare different exercise modalities in long-term changes of CVD risk factors and physical fitness among older adults.

6-week, single site, two parallel arm, randomized, controlled trial comparing the effectiveness of a High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) versus a continuous Moderate Intensity Training (MIT) program on cardiovascular and metabolic health outcomes in overweight adolescent males. HIIT training may be a potent time-efficient strategy to induce similar metabolic and cardiovascular adaptations typically associated with MIT.

Objectives: To determine the effect of protein content of familiar breakfast meals on subjective appetite, food intake (FI), glycemic response and Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) in normal weight (NW) and overweight (OW)/obese (OB) children. Specific Objectives: 1a.To determine the effect of familiar breakfast meals (450 kcal containing eggs and varying in protein content (15, 30, and 45g) on subjective appetite, glycemic response and food intake at a test meal 4 h later in NW and. OW/OB children. 1b. To describe the effect of isocaloric (450 kcal) familiar breakfasts either high in protein (optimal protein from Objective 1a) or low in protein on TEF and substrate utilization over 5 h in NW and OW/OB children.