Whole Foods for Teens: A Pilot Dietary Intervention to Reduce Body Adiposity in Adolescents With Obesity
Vanderbilt University
Summary
This study will address the following aims: Aim 1: Conduct an 8-week pilot RCT to examine the effects of a whole foods diet intervention on body adiposity in adolescents with obesity. Aim 1a (Primary): Evaluate intervention effectiveness on total fat mass following the 8-week intervention. Hypothesis 1a: Adolescents randomized to the whole foods intervention will have lower total fat mass (kg) at the 8-week follow-up than those in the control group. Aim 1b: Evaluate intervention effectiveness on anthropometric changes following the 8-week intervention. Hypothesis 1b: Adolescents randomized to the whole foods intervention will have lower weight, BMI-z scores and/or waist circumference at the 8-week follow-up than those in the control group. Secondary Aims: Aim 2: Conduct an 8-week pilot RCT to examine the effects of a whole foods diet intervention on diet quality in adolescent and parent pairs during the study period. Hypothesis 2: Adolescents and parents randomized to the whole foods intervention will have higher diet quality scores at the 8-week follow-up than those in the control group. Aim 3: Conduct post-intervention family focus groups to identify how individual/family needs and preferences and social determinants of health (SDOH) may be perceived barriers and/or facilitators of diet adherence to a whole foods diet pattern.
Description
For adolescents with obesity, a healthy diet pattern is recommended as a first-line non-pharmacological treatment. Yet, despite decades of research, there is inconclusive evidence from randomized clinical trials (RCT) to support an optimal dietary pattern to treat adolescent obesity. While observational data has linked poor-quality diet patterns high in calories, fat, and refined carbohydrates to greater body adiposity in adolescents, some research suggests that dietary patterns that emphasize high-quality whole foods (e.g. Mediterranean, low-glycemic load) not only improve diet quality but ca…