Active clinical trials for "Pediatric Obesity"

The goal of this clinical trial is to test a responsive parenting obesity prevention program with infants and caregivers of color (e.g., non-White; Hispanic/Latinx) and/or who are economically marginalized (i.e., publicly insured), delivered via Integrated Behavioral Health (IBH) in pediatric primary care. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1) Is the obesity prevention intervention delivered via IBH in pediatric primary care feasible and acceptable to families of color and/or families who are economically marginalized? 2) Will it prevent rapid weight gain during infancy? Participants will complete baseline (newborn), post-treatment (9 months), and follow-up assessments (12 months). Participants assigned to treatment will receive 4 prevention sessions as part of their typical well-child visit in pediatric primary care. Researchers hypothesize that infants in the obesity prevention intervention will have stable weight gain compared to infants in the control group (treatment as usual) will experience more rapid weight gain.

This research uses community based participatory research (CBPR) to engage low-income Latinx families in research to pilot test an adapted nutrition education program compared to an existing nutrition education program. The goal of the research is to provide nutrition education on healthy infant feeding to reduce risk for early childhood obesity. The prevalence of obesity in early life remains unacceptably high, especially among low-income children, most are ethnic minorities. Marked ethnic disparities are evident by two years of age, which suggests that existing interventions are not adequate. This project, which focuses on an-at-risk child population, has great potential to address our nation's growing crisis of childhood obesity, which can dramatically improve the health of millions of low-income children, their families, and their future children.

This proposal uses an innovative methodological framework, the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST), to design an effective and efficient responsive feeding (RF) intervention that promotes child appetite self-regulation among a high-risk sample: families with preschoolers living in rural poverty. The principles of MOST emphasize efficiency, allowing identification of the most efficacious intervention components (i.e., components that contribute to treatment effects) while minimizing participant burden and cost. ONE PATH will intervene on ~760 families across 64 classrooms serving largely low-income, rural populations. ONE PATH will capitalize on the existing infrastructure with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education to engage trusted Extension educators making this model cost-effective, and increasing the potential for wide-scale dissemination and sustainability.

Maternal and childhood obesity have dramatically increased and continue to present a significant health problem. Studies show that offspring of overweight (body mass index, BMI >25-29.9) and obese (BMI ≥30) women are at increased risk of newborn and age 1-year adiposity, and infant adiposity predicts childhood and adult obesity. The investigators hypothesize that infants of overweight/obese (OW/OB) mothers have both relative hyperphagia and are provided human milk with increased caloric composition, leading to obesity. The investigators propose an intervention study to calibrate milk or formula intake in infants of OW/OB mothers so as to avoid overweight infants at 6 months of age.

This pilot randomized controlled trial will test the effectiveness of Eatable Alphabet cards, a child friendly nutrition education tool, on child weight and related behaviors in a clinical sample of 2 to 10-year-old children with overweight/obesity, referred to a pediatric weight management program.

Infants from underserved and minority backgrounds are at increased risk for obesity and poor feeding and nutrition outcomes, but obesity prevention programs tailored specifically to the needs of these infants are lacking. The current study takes a community-engaged approach to development and delivery of an adaptively tailored obesity prevention program delivered via home visiting to target infant eating and feeding (Healthy Eating for My Infant; HEMI).

Neonates delivered by scheduled Cesarean Section will be randomized to receive vaginal seeding (exposing the infant to Mother's vaginal flora) or sham. Infants will be followed for three years to examine health outcomes including microbiome development, immune development, metabolic outcomes, and any adverse events.

In the U.S., dietary fructose has increased in parallel with the increase in obesity and may promote the development of diabetes and other chronic diseases. The largest source of dietary fructose is sweetened beverages that are consumed by adolescents more than any other age group. This protocol will compare the rates of hepatic de novo lipogenesis (DNL), a process in the liver that changes sugar into fat, in two groups of obese adolescents - one with prediabetes and the other, metabolically healthy. Blood will be sampled before and hourly for 3 hours after the consumption of a fructose-containing beverage. We hypothesize that the pre-diabetic group will show greater DNL in response to fructose. This would support other evidence that increased fructose-induced hepatic DNL is an early mechanism linking dietary sugar to the adverse metabolic sequelae of obesity, including diabetes, fatty liver, dyslipidemia and coronary disease.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) in youth is increasing in prevalence in parallel with the obesity epidemic. In the US, almost half of patients with renal failure have DKD, and ≥80% have T2D. Compared to adult-onset T2D, youth with T2D have a more aggressive phenotype with greater insulin resistance (IR), more rapid β-cell decline and higher prevalence of diabetic kidney disease (DKD), arguing for separate and dedicated studies in youth-onset T2D. Early DKD is characterized by changes in intrarenal hemodynamic function, including increased renal plasma flow (RPF) and glomerular pressure with resultant hyperfiltration, is common in Y-T2D, and predicts progressive DKD. Studies evaluating the two currently approved medications for treating T2D in youth (metformin and insulin) have shown these medications are not able to improve β-cell function over time in the youth. However, recent evidence suggests that bariatric surgery in adults is associated with improvements in diabetes outcomes, and even T2D remission in many patients. Limited data in youth also supports the benefits of bariatric surgery, regarding weight loss, glycemic control in T2D, and cardio-renal health. While weight loss is important, the acute effect of bariatric surgery on factors such as insulin resistance likely includes weight loss-independent mechanisms. A better understanding of the effects of bariatric surgery on pancreatic function, intrarenal hemodynamics, renal O2 and cardiovascular function is critical to help define mechanisms of surgical benefits, to help identify potential novel future non-surgical approaches to prevent pancreatic failure, DKD and cardiovascular disease. The investigators' overarching hypotheses are that: 1) Y-T2D is associated with IR, pancreatic dysfunction, intrarenal hemodynamic dysfunction, elevated renal O2 consumption and cardiovascular dysfunction which improve with bariatric surgery, 2) The early effect of bariatric surgery on intrarenal hemodynamics is mediated by improvement in IR and weight loss. To address these hypotheses, the investigators will measure GFR, RPF, glomerular pressure and renal O2, in addition to aortic stiffness, β-cell function and insulin sensitivity in youth ages 12-21 with T2D (n=30) before and after vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG). To further investigate the mechanisms of renal damage in youth with T2D, two optional procedures are included in the study prior to vertical sleeve gastrectomy: 1) kidney biopsy procedure and 2) induction of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to assess morphometrics and genetic expression of renal tissue.

In this study, we will address cost barriers to participating in summer programs and hypothesize this will lead to marked improvements in children's obesogenic behaviors and a reduction in excessive, unhealthy weight gain over summer.