Recruiting

Observational Study

Sponsor:

Stanford University

Code:

NCT06165952

Conditions

Ultra-processed Foods (UP)

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 13 - 15

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Study Details

Brief summary:

Examine if ultra-processed (UP) foods are more effective in activating reward, attention, and memory brain regions and in promoting food cue learning than minimally-processed foods. Assess individual differences in neurobehavioral responses to UP foods.

Conditions

Ultra-processed Foods (UP)

Study ID

NCT06165952

Start date

Oct 4, 2024

Status verified date

Apr, 2026

Completion date

Feb 28, 2029

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Feb 1, 2029

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 13 - 15

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • female and male adolescents 13-15 years of age
  • age- and sex- adjusted zBMI scores between the 25th and 75th percentile
  • participant and their guardian must be able to read and speak English to gather valid consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • current eating disorders or other major psychiatric disorders (e.g., depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, substance use disorder)
  • fMRI contra-indicators (e.g., metal implants, braces, claustrophobia, pregnancy)
  • serious medical problems (e.g., Type 2 diabetes, cancer)
  • history of food allergies or restrictive dietary requirements (e.g., lactose intolerance, vegan)
  • use of psychoactive drugs more than once weekly
  • medications that impact appetite or reward functioning (e.g., metformin, anti-psychotic medication, insulin)

Study Design

Enrollment

162 participants

Anticipated

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

Adolescent youth age 13-15

age- and sex- adjusted body mass index (zBMI) scores between the 25th and 75th percentile

Primary outcome measure

  • Body Fat [ Time Frame: Baseline, 1-year, 2-year, 3-year, 4-year follow-up ]
  • Baseline functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) Ultra-Processed Foods Taste, Anticipated Taste, and Picture Paradigm [ Time Frame: Baseline ]
  • Baseline fMRI Ultra-Processed Food Picture Paradigm [ Time Frame: Baseline ]
  • Baseline fMRI Ultra-Processed Food Cue Learning Paradigm [ Time Frame: Baseline ]
  • Baseline Post-fMRI Ad Lib Food Intake [ Time Frame: Baseline ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Eric Stice, PhD

541-222-0615estice@stanford.edu

Teena Ambrose, BS

310-658-6193tambrose@stanford.edu

Locations

Stanford University

Recruiting

Stanford, California, United States, 94305

Contacts

Teena Ambrose, BS

310-658-6193tambrose@stanford.edu

Eric Stice, PhD

541-222-0615estice@stanford.edu

Principal Investigator:

Eric Stice, PhD

More Information

Sponsor

Stanford University

Last update posted

Apr 24, 2026

Last verified

Apr, 2026

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Stanford University on 2026-04-24.