An observational study in Pediatric Obesity and Binge-Eating Disorder, sponsored by University of Pittsburgh. Active, not recruiting at 2 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 9 Years to 12 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-06-04.
Sponsored by University of Pittsburgh · Observational
Overweight/obesity and loss of control eating (characterized by the sense that one cannot control what or how much one is eating) are prevalent among children and adolescents, and both are associated with serious medical and psychosocial health complications. Although our recently published data suggest that youth with these conditions may have relative deficits in neurocognitive functioning, particularly working memory, understanding of how these processes and their neural correlates are related to change and stability in eating and weight-related outcomes over time is limited, thereby impeding development of targeted, optimally timed interventions. The present study aims to assess prospective associations between general and food-specific executive functioning and underlying neural substrates, and eating and weight outcomes among children at varying levels of risk overweight/obesity and eating disorders, which will help guide research efforts towards the development of effective prevention and intervention strategies.
The current study will examine prospective associations among general and food-specific EF and related neural substrates, and the developmental course of weight gain and LOC eating from middle childhood through early adolescence. Specific aims are to:
1,117 studies on the registry are indexed under Pediatric Obesity; 189 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 180 is close to the median of 200 across 231 observational studies indexed under Pediatric Obesity.
Browse Pediatric Obesity studies →University of Pittsburgh is the lead sponsor of 1,385 studies on the registry; 167 are open to participants now.
Of its 8 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 4 (50%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Participants will include 180 children (9-12y) representing a spectrum of risk for eating and weight disorders, including overweight/obese (BMI ≥ 85th age- and sex-adjusted percentile) with LOC eating (n=60), overweight/obese without LOC eating (n=60), and healthy weight without LOC eating (5th percentile ≤ BMI \< 85th percentile; n=60).
Inclusion Criteria:
Adolescents with a BMI percentile under 85% who are not randomly assigned to undergo MRI scans at baseline and 18-months.
Behavioral: Observational (not including MRI scanning)
Adolescents with a BMI percentile under 85% who are randomly assigned to undergo MRI scans at baseline and 18-months.
Behavioral: Observational (including MRI scanning)
Adolescents with a BMI percentile at 85% or higher who are not randomly assigned to undergo MRI scans at baseline and 18-months.
Behavioral: Observational (not including MRI scanning)
Adolescents with a BMI percentile at 85% or higher who are randomly assigned to undergo MRI scans at baseline and 18-months.
Behavioral: Observational (including MRI scanning)
Adolescents with a BMI percentile at 85% or higher, who report loss of control eating episodes and are not randomly assigned to undergo MRI scans at baseline and 18-months.
Behavioral: Observational (not including MRI scanning)
Adolescents with a BMI percentile at 85% or higher, who report loss of control eating episodes and are randomly assigned to undergo MRI scans at baseline and 18-months.
Behavioral: Observational (including MRI scanning)
Observational data will be obtained through self-report measures, parental report measures, cognitive assessments, and a semi-structured interview.
Observational data will be obtained through self-report measures, parental report measures, cognitive assessments, fMRI imaging, and a semi-structured interview.
BMI (Body Mass Index)
BMI will be assessed using height and weight (cm/g)
Time frame: Change in BMI from baseline to 24 months
Eating Behavior
Eating behavior will be assessed using the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE), a semi-structured interview. Global scores are calculated, with higher scores indicating higher disordered eating symptomology.
Time frame: Change in eating behavior from baseline to 24 months
General Executive Functioning
A general n-back task that will involve continuous presentation of neutral stimuli (letters or numbers). Participants indicate via button press whether the target (current) stimulus was presented n items ago.
Time frame: Change in general executive functioning from baseline to 24 months
Food-Specific Executive Functioning
A food-specific WM task that involves continuous presentation of stimuli representing food and non-food items. Participants indicate via button press whether the target (current) stimulus was presented n items ago.
Time frame: Change in food-specific executive functioning from baseline to 24 months
Documents are hosted by the registry — open the source record to download them.
Plan to share: No
This study is active, not recruiting, as verified in Jun 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.
University of Pittsburgh