Recruiting

Hyper-Palatable Foods

Sponsor:

University of Kansas

Code:

NCT07776938

Conditions

Hyperpalatable Foods

Abuse Liability

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Full Dose HPF

Modified Dose- No Fat

Modified Dose- No Sodium

Jicama Root Vegetable Chip- Negative Control

Study Details

Brief summary:

The study will conduct a laboratory study designed to evaluate the rewarding and addictive properties of hyper-palatable foods (HPF), using potato chips as the food stimulus/sample HPF.

Conditions

Hyperpalatable Foods

Abuse Liability

Study ID

NCT07776938

Start date

Sep 8, 2026

Status verified date

Jul, 2026

Completion date

Jan 30, 2031

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Nov, 2030

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adults 18+ years old
  • High dietary intake of regular potato chips (HPF stimulus in the study), identified as >=3 times per week via a standard dietary history questionnaire
  • Like potato chips, the study-provided food (rating of >6 out of 10 on visual analogue scale) and willing to consume them in the lab.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Currently prescribed medications for weight loss (e.g., Ozempic), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, substance use disorder, or binge eating disorder
  • Substance use disorder diagnosis in the past year (self-reported) or substantial consequences from substance use in the past year (score on Drug Abuse Screening Test-10 of 6 or higher)
  • Eating disorder diagnosis in the past year
  • Bariatric surgery in the past year
  • Dietary allergies or restrictions to gluten
  • Dietary allergies or restrictions to root vegetables
  • Currently participating in a weight management treatment program or engaging in dietary modification to induce weight loss
  • Trying to cut down on HPF intake
  • Diagnosed smell or taste dysfunction
  • Currently pregnant
  • Diagnosed cognitive impairment (self-reported)

Study Design

Enrollment

168 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Crossover

Primary purpose

Basic Science

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

other: Sequence 1: Full Dose HPF → Modified Dose- No Fat → Modified Dose No Sodium → Negative Control

Participants receive Full Dose HPF chip at Visit 1, Modified Dose- No Fat chip at Visit 2, Modified Dose- No Sodium chip at Visit 3, and Negative Control chip at Visit 4.

other: Sequence 2: Modified Dose- No Fat → Modified Dose- No Sodium → Negative Control → Full Dose HPF

Participants receive Modified Dose- No Fat chip at Visit 1, Modified Dose- No Sodium chip at Visit 2, Negative Control chip at Visit 3, and Full Dose HPF chip at Visit 4.

other: Sequence 3: Modified Dose- No Sodium → Negative Control → Full Dose HPF → Modified Dose- No Fat

Participants receive Modified No Salt chip at Visit 1, Negative Control chip at Visit 2, Full Dose HPF chip at Visit 3, and Modified No Fat chip at Visit 4.

other: Sequence 4: Negative Control → Full Dose HPF → Modified Dose- No Fat → Modified Dose- No Sodium

Participants receive Negative Control chip at Visit 1, Full Dose HPF chip at Visit 2, Modified No Fat chip at Visit 3, and Modified No Salt chip at Visit 4.

Interventions

Full Dose HPF

This food stimulus is a regular, fried potato chip (with no modifications), considered the full dose hyper-palatable food stimulus.

The nutrient characteristics are as followed (per 7 grams): 40kcal calories, 2.5g fat, 35mg sodium, 3.8g carbs.

Modified Dose- No Fat

The food stimulus is a baked/"air fried" potato chip with sodium. Thus, the stimulus will have almost no fat. The nutrient characteristics are as followed (per 7 grams): 34kcal calories, 0.9g fat, 37mg sodium, 4.0g carbs.

Modified Dose- No Sodium

The food stimulus will be a fried potato chip, unsalted. The nutrient characteristics are as followed (per 7 grams): 38kcal calories, 2.5g fat, 0.6mg sodium, 3.8g carbs

Jicama Root Vegetable Chip- Negative Control

The food stimulus is a baked/"air fried" Jicama root vegetable chip which will serve as the negative control with no sodium, fat, and lower carbohydrates. The nutrient characteristics are as followed (per 7 grams): 20kcal calories, 0g fat, 0.1g sodium, 0.7g carbs.

Primary outcome measure

  • Subjective effect measure: food stimulus liking [ Time Frame: Baseline, at each visit ]
  • Subjective effect measure: food stimulus wanting/desire [ Time Frame: Baseline, at each visit ]
  • Subjective effect measure: food stimulus craving [ Time Frame: Baseline, at each visit ]
  • Subjective effect measure: food stimulus likelihood to use again [ Time Frame: Baseline, at each visit ]
  • Demand elasticity value of the food stimulus [ Time Frame: Baseline, at each visit ]
  • Breakpoint value in self-administration task [ Time Frame: Baseline, at each visit ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Tera Fazzino, Doctorate

785-864-0062tfazzino@ku.edu

Cash Petree, B.S.

615-999-5677cashpetree@ku.edu

Locations

Dole Human Development Center

Recruiting

Lawrence, Kansas, United States, 66049

Contacts

Tera Fazzino, Doctorate

785-864-0062tfazzino@ku.edu

More Information

Sponsor

University of Kansas

Last update posted

Sep 14, 2026

Last verified

Jul, 2026

Keywords

  • hyperpalatable foods
  • abuse liability
  • laboratory

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-15. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Kansas on 2026-09-14.