Can exercise and Self-Control shield kids from binge eating?
NCT ID NCT07823153
First seen Sep 16, 2026 · Last updated Sep 17, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas are studying how physical activity, sedentary behavior and self-control relate to loss of control eating in children. The study follows 200 children aged 10 to 12 for three years, using brain scans, activity monitors, and real-time phone surveys. The goal is to understand whether changes in activity and self-regulation predict binge eating and eating disorder symptoms as children grow into adolescence.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- behavioral tasks and brain imaging to measure self-control and food reward
- What this could lead to
- If the study finds links, it could help researchers design activity or self-control programs that lower children's risk of binge eating and eating disorders.
- What could go wrong
- This is an observational study, so it can show patterns but not prove cause and effect. Results may not apply to all children, and the findings could be years away from practical use.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 200 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Jan 2027
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Sep 2030
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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10 to 12 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Can read and speak English. 2. At-risk for loss of control eating will be over-sampled (representing minimum 30% of sample) to capture sufficient variability across time in loss of control eating, the online screener will include the Eating Disorders Examination Questionnaire-Short Parent Version (EDE-QS-P). At-risk for loss of control eating is defined on the EDE-QS-P as a global score at least 1 standard deviation above the mean EDE-QS-P score observed among parents of children without eating disorders (i.e., global score \> 1.2). Exclusion Criteria: 1. Diagnosis of an eating disorder other than binge-eating disorder or subthreshold binge-eating disorder (i.e., binge-eating disorder of low frequency/limited duration), or presence of compulsive exercise as assessed by the Child Eating Disorder Examination. 2. Health issues that limit physical activity. 3. Intellectual disability (assessed with the Child and Adolescent Intellectual Disability Screening Questionnaire embedded within the online eligibility screener), which would interfere with completing ecological momentary assessment. 4. Pregnancy. 5. Acute suicidality (screened using item 9 on the Patient Health Questionnaire-Adolescent). 6. Presence of conditions that would make fMRI unsafe (e.g., pacemaker), as assessed by an MRI screening form. 7. Undergoing eating disorder or weight loss treatment. 8. Classified as underweight by a body mass index percentile \<5% adjusted for sex and age (body mass index z-score\<-2.0). 9. Schizophrenia, substance use disorders, severe neurological disorder (e.g., epilepsy, brain injury), or diabetes (per caregiver self-report).
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
3 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia, 22030, United States
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University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California, 90089, United States
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University of Texas at Dallas
Richardson, Texas, 75080, United States
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