Active clinical trials for "Obesity"

Obesity is associated with increased risk for mortality, atherosclerotic cerebrovascular disease, coronary heart disease, colorectal cancer, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, gallbladder disease, and diabetes mellitus, resulting in over 111,000 deaths annually in the United States (Calle et al., 1999; Flegal et al., 2005). In the US, 65% of adults are overweight or obese (Hedley et al., 2004). Unfortunately, the treatment of choice for obesity (behavioral weight loss treatment) only results in a 10% reduction in body weight on average and most patients regain this weight within a few years (Jeffery et al., 2000). Further, most obesity prevention programs do not reduce risk for future weight gain (Stice, Shaw, & Marti, 2006). The limited success of treatment and prevention interventions may be due to an incomplete understanding of the processes that increase risk for obesity. Recent data suggest that obese adults show abnormalities in reward from food intake and anticipated food intake relative to lean adults, but the precise nature of these abnormalities is unclear and it has not been established whether these abnormalities predate obesity onset or are a consequence. It is vital to elucidate risk factors for obesity onset to advance understanding of etiological processes and determine the content of prevention and treatment programs. The goals of this study are to (1) determine whether adolescents at high-risk for obesity, by virtue of having two obese parents, show abnormalities in reward from food intake (consummatory food reward) and anticipated reward from food intake (anticipatory food reward) compared to adolescents who are at low-risk for obesity, (2) determine whether abnormalities in consummatory and anticipatory food reward increase risk for weight gain and obesity onset, (3) examine moderators that may amplify the relations of consummatory and anticipatory food reward to unhealthy weight gain, and (4) examine changes in consummatory and anticipatory food reward in those participants who show obesity onset relative to those not showing obesity onset.

Subjects will undergo a brief magnetic resonance (MRI) scan. The resulting images will be used to compare two abdominal fat segmentation techniques. The first technique is already validated and in use. The second technique was recently developed and has not been validated. The hypothesis is that the second technique will be the faster and more reliable of the two.

The interplay of genetic and behavioral factors is critical to understanding obesity. Behavioral weight loss intervention has emerged as a key strategy in combating obesity. However, individuals differ in their degree of success in these programs and genetic factors are known to play a role. In this application, the investigators propose to identify specific genes that predict individual differences in weight loss and high density lipoprotein cholesterol in response to behavioral intervention to help identify individuals that struggle with weight loss and cholesterol despite behavioral efforts.

The main aim of this study is to analyze and report traditional, patient-centered, and composite intermediate-term outcomes after laparoscopic revision Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery for weight recidivism.

Background: Gastric bypass is the most commonly performed type of bariatric (obesity) surgery, has dramatically increased in popularity and is now considered to be preferred treatments in severely obese patients that fail non-surgical therapy - particularly in patients with type 2 diabetes. Drug malabsorption is a potential concern post-gastric bypass because intestinal length is reduced. Purpose: The purpose of this controlled, pharmacokinetic study is to determine whether the absorption of a single dose of metformin, the first line drug treatment in patients with type 2 diabetes, is significantly reduced after gastric bypass. Methods: A single dose of standard release metformin 1000 mg will be administered to patients who have undergone gastric bypass and to patients who have not received surgery but are on the wait list (wait-listed controls). Blood sampling and urine sampling will occur in standardized fashion over the ensuing 24 hours to measure and compare the absorption of metformin between study arms. 34 patients total will be recruited. Significance: Following completion of this study, we will better understand how gastric bypass affects metformin absorption. Ultimately, this information will help to ensure that this patient population is receiving optimal doses of this important drug treatment.

The aim is to identify differences in the stomatognathic system, mastication and deglutition functions between obese and normal weight subjects.

The overall goal of this study is to determine whether variations in the perilipin, and several other, genes would be a useful tool for physicians who are caring for morbidly obese patients to guide therapy. The main hypotheses to be tested is that sequence variations (polymorphisms) in the perilipin gene and several other obesity-related genes are associated with resistance to weight loss for obese individuals on energy restricted diets, potentially playing a role in the development of obesity related complications.

The purpose of this research is to study whether fetal biometrics obtained by 2-D ultrasound can predict infant adiposity by air displacement plethysmography at birth.

Glycemic control is rapidly restored in patients with insulin resistance after bariatric surgery, in particular after the mal-absorptive one (i.e. Bilio-pancreatic diversion, BPD). To evaluate the mechanisms allowing restoration of insulin sensitivity after BPD the investigators aimed at identifying by using a proteomic approach plasma proteins or peptides that may be involved in the remarkably fast and explicit restoration of insulin sensitivity. In addition to the unbiased proteomics approach, a selection of recognized markers for metabolic control will be measured. These efforts all aim at an increased understanding of how insulin sensitivity is regulated and may provide novel ideas of how to treat insulin resistance and type 2-diabetes.

This study is the first hospital-based, cross-sectional study to discuss the prevalence of obesity among 710 inpatients with schizophrenia.