Active clinical trials for "Weight Loss"

The purpose of this study is to assess the efficacy and safety of a cashew apple extract on weight management and associated metabolic risk factors in overweight/obese volunteers, versus placebo, after 12 weeks of treatment.

This is a short term study of the effects of bariatric surgery on body composition, gait parameters during walking, lower extremity joint pain and quality of life (QOL) in morbidly obese patients who are already scheduled for a bariatric surgical procedure.

Background: Exercise, weight loss, and dietary supplementation of glucosamine and chondroitin (GC) have been reported to improve functional capacity in individuals with knee osteoarthritis (OA). The purpose of this study was 1.) to determine whether women with knee OA who follow a higher protein diet observe more favorable changes in body composition and/or markers of health compared to those following a standard higher carbohydrate-based diet; and, 2.) to determine whether dietary supplementation of glucosamine and chondroitin during a weight loss and fitness program lessens symptoms of pain, improves functional capacity, and/or promotes greater health benefits in women with knee OA. It was hypothesized that both groups would experience beneficial changes in body mass, body composition, and markers of health. However, greater benefits would be observed in those following a higher protein diet while supplementing the diet with glucosamine and chondroitin.

This study is designed to compare the changes in insulin sensitivity as well as gastrointestinal hormone levels in diabetic and non-diabetic obese individuals who are undergoing weight loss procedures. The main hypothesis of this study is that weight loss induced by gastric bypass will induce a greater improvement in insulin sensitivity compared with gastric banding or low calorie diet. Subjects will be studied before and after weight loss. Studies consist of intravenous glucose tolerance test, body composition analysis, meal test, and energy expenditure.

The specific aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of surgically-induced weight reduction, as achieved by laparoscopic gastric banding or sleeve gastrectomy, on pelvic floor disorders such as stress urinary incontinence, overactive bladder, anal incontinence, and pelvic organ prolapse in severely, morbidly and super-obese women using a prospective, observational study design.

Obesity affects more than 43 million Americans and is associated with an increased incidence of heart failure, sudden death, and cardiovascular death. We have shown that increasing obesity is independently associated with potentially detrimental LV structural and functional, and metabolic changes. Thus in order to increase our understanding of the effect of obesity on the heart, we wish to study the effect of significant weight loss on these parameters.

This study will evaluate how large, intentional weight reduction affects the human brain and possible ways to reverse the changes associated with excess body weight. Subtle changes in some brain regions occur in people who are overweight. Such changes may involve the regulation of eating behavior, though it is not clear whether the changes were present before weight gain or are a consequence. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) will be used to study local structures of the brain. Patients ages 18 to 45 who are undergoing gastric bypass surgery and who are not pregnant or breastfeeding may be eligible for this study. A study group of lean participants will serve as controls. Patients will visit the Phoenix Indian Medical Center for about 3 days at a time for tests. They will have a medical examination, electrocardiogram, and tests of blood and urine. Questionnaires they will complete involve patients' moods and possible influence on eating behaviors, as well as food preferences. A taste test, smell test, and assessment of decision-making processes will be conducted. An oral glucose tolerance test involves a needle placed intravenously (IV) in the arm, for drawing blood after patients drink a sugar solution. The test takes about 3-1/2 hours, with six blood samples taken (about 2 tablespoons total). A meal test also includes use of an IV line. After patients consume a liquid meal, blood will be collected to analyze levels of blood sugar and hormones. For the DEXA scan, which measures body composition, patients will lie still while low-dose X-rays are used for 5 to 10 minutes. Urine will be collected for 1 whole day, to measure cortisol, a hormone. The MRI scan uses a strong magnetic field to obtain images of body organs and tissues. Patients having any metal in the body that may interfere with the scanning machine should not have this test. For the MRI procedure, patients will lie on a table that slides into the enclosed tunnel of the scanner and be asked to lie still. Patients will be able to communicate with the MRI staff at all times during the scan, and they may ask to be removed from the machine at any time.

The purpose of this research study is to understand the mechanism of weight loss for weight loss procedures: that is Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy and Endoscopic sleeve Gastroplasty.

Study of the impact of weight loss induced by surgery (interventional group) or optimal nutritional management (control group) on sexual function in men with severe obesity

An important step during a gastric bypass operation for the treatment of morbid obesity is the measuring of the small bowel length. At several reoperations we found a length increase of the lowest part of the small intestine of up to 80% compared to the measured length at the initial operation. On the one hand, this reflects a normal technical error of small bowel measuring due to the variable state of contraction of the bowel, but on the other hand, it could also be due to a compensatory increase in intestinal length after the operation. New protocols allow measuring of the small bowel length by MRI. Comparing the preoperative and later on several postoperative measurements by MRI with the initial intraoperative length measuring should allow to validate the new MRI protocol and in the same time quantify the eventual small bowel length increase. We plan to include 20 patients in this study.