Keeping Weight Off: Brain Changes Associated With Healthy Behaviors
| Status: | Recruiting |
|---|---|
| Conditions: | Obesity Weight Loss, Obesity Weight Loss |
| Therapuetic Areas: | Endocrinology |
| Healthy: | No |
| Age Range: | 25 - 60 |
| Updated: | 4/21/2016 |
| Start Date: | December 2014 |
| End Date: | June 2017 |
| Contact: | Carl Fulwiler, MD, PhD |
| Email: | carl.fulwiler@umassmed.edu |
| Phone: | 508-856-8389 |
The goal of this project is to characterize changes in emotion regulation pathways
associated with healthy behaviors in people who have recently lost weight and are seeking to
maintain weight loss over a 1-year period.
associated with healthy behaviors in people who have recently lost weight and are seeking to
maintain weight loss over a 1-year period.
Unhealthy behaviors such as overeating and a sedentary lifestyle are largely responsible for
overweight and obesity which substantially increase risk for chronic conditions such as
heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, arthritis and certain cancers. The
rapid rise in obesity threatens to reverse recent gains in life expectancy and account for a
large percentage of premature deaths in the U.S. Although there is evidence for the
short-term efficacy of a number of methods for initiating health behavior change to lose
weight, these interventions have shown only limited ability to affect significant, long-term
behavioral changes in the majority of adults. In part this may be because they fail to
adequately address how psychological factors that lead to relapse to unhealthy behaviors and
failure to maintain long-term behavior change.
The purpose of the study is to understand brain changes that accompany participation in
programs that foster healthy behaviors in people seeking to maintain weight loss. We will
use MRI scans to study brain function in men and women 25-60 years old who have lost weight
in the last year without surgery. Participants will be assigned to one of two programs to
help them maintain weight loss and will be compensated for their time. Our goal is to gain a
better understanding of the brain changes that lead to long-term success in keeping weight
off, in the hope that this knowledge will assist in the development of improved treatments.
overweight and obesity which substantially increase risk for chronic conditions such as
heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, arthritis and certain cancers. The
rapid rise in obesity threatens to reverse recent gains in life expectancy and account for a
large percentage of premature deaths in the U.S. Although there is evidence for the
short-term efficacy of a number of methods for initiating health behavior change to lose
weight, these interventions have shown only limited ability to affect significant, long-term
behavioral changes in the majority of adults. In part this may be because they fail to
adequately address how psychological factors that lead to relapse to unhealthy behaviors and
failure to maintain long-term behavior change.
The purpose of the study is to understand brain changes that accompany participation in
programs that foster healthy behaviors in people seeking to maintain weight loss. We will
use MRI scans to study brain function in men and women 25-60 years old who have lost weight
in the last year without surgery. Participants will be assigned to one of two programs to
help them maintain weight loss and will be compensated for their time. Our goal is to gain a
better understanding of the brain changes that lead to long-term success in keeping weight
off, in the hope that this knowledge will assist in the development of improved treatments.
Inclusion Criteria:
- 25 to 60 years old
- Healthy individuals who have intentionally lost at least 5% of their body weight over
the past year
- BMI >20.5 kg/m2 at study entry and >25 in past 2 years
Exclusion Criteria:
- Weight-loss surgery or medications
- Serious Psychiatric or medical conditions
- Substance abuse
- Ineligible for MRI
- Pregnant
- Eating disorder
We found this trial at
1
site
Worcester, Massachusetts 01655
Principal Investigator: Carl Fulwiler, MD, PhD
Phone: 508-856-8389
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