NCT03997149

Stress Reactivity Study in Adolescents

Stress-induced Eating Behavior: Implications for Pediatric Obesity Disparities

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 60 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Michigan · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 14 Years – 19 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The goal of this study was to examine the glucocorticoid and behavioral responses to a psychological stressor in obese African-American and non-Latino white adolescents. Participants were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and a control condition on separate days. Immediately following each condition, participants were provided with snacks to eat at their leisure. Reactivity was assessed via salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase area under the curve (AUC), and adolescents were categorized as high or low reactors.

Detailed description

In the United States, pediatric obesity has more than tripled in the last 30 years, particularly among certain racial/ethnic groups including African-Americans. This disparity is partially attributable to greater exposure to psychological stress reported in this group (relative to non-Latino whites). Chronic psychological stress leads to weight gain directly through prolonged exposure to biological stress mediators such as cortisol and indirectly through behavioral pathways involving cortisol-induced increases in food consumption. An exciting arena of scientific advancements is focusing on identifying the specific pathways through which chronic stress influences eating behavior with emerging evidence to suggest that food intake, which is commonly increased during periods of stress, may serve as one key mechanism linking stress and obesity, particularly in African-American youth who are disproportionately exposed to chronic stress and have greater access to, and consumption of, energy-dense palatable foods. It is critical to advance understanding of the interplay between stress and food intake in understanding racial/ethnic disparities in pediatric obesity because stress eating represents a modifiable health behavior. That is, increased food intake during periods of elevated stress can be targeted for intervention in ways that may ameliorate the deleterious effects of stress on obesity risk. This project investigated the role of stress eating as a pathway linking chronic stress and obesity in African-American and non-Latino white adolescents.

Conditions

• Stress
• Eating Behavior

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Acute Laboratory Stressor	The TSST was 20 minutes long and consisted of a five-minute instructional period where participants listened to a pre-recorded tape; a five-minute speech preparation period; a five-minute challenging serial subtraction task; and a five-minute videotaped public speaking task in front of a panel of three evaluative, non-affirming judges dressed in white coats.
BEHAVIORAL	Low affect video	The 20-minute TSST was replaced with a 20-minute low-affect educational film screening.

Timeline

• Start date: 2013-12-12
• Primary completion: 2017-03-13
• Completion: 2017-04-30
• First posted: 2019-06-25
• Last updated: 2019-06-25

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States