Could cutting Ultra-Processed foods reverse childhood metabolic syndrome?
NCT ID NCT05554016
First seen Sep 02, 2026 · Last updated Sep 03, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
Researchers are investigating whether eating ultra-processed foods is linked to obesity and metabolic syndrome in children and teens. The study will compare three groups: children with obesity, children with obesity plus metabolic syndrome, and healthy controls. Participants will record their food intake for a week, and researchers will measure certain compounds in the skin linked to these foods. The goal is to understand how these foods might contribute to metabolic problems in young people.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- No intervention; observational study of dietary intake of ultra-processed foods
- What this could lead to
- If a clear link emerges, it could guide dietary advice and public health policies to reduce ultra-processed food intake in children.
- What could go wrong
- This is an observational study, so it cannot prove cause and effect. The results may be influenced by other lifestyle factors.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Participants
-
200 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Sep 2022
- Finished
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Feb 2026
- 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.
Who is studied
Pediatric subjects of caucasian ethnicity, of both sexes, aged ≥6 and ≤18 years, with a sure diagnosis of obesity (Group 1), of obesity complicated by Metabolic Syndrome (Group 2), and age- and sex-matched healthy controls (Group 3).
- Ages
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6 to 18 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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: * Caucasian ethnicity, both sexes, age ≥6 and ≤18 years, diagnosis of obesity (Group 1), diagnosis of obesity and Metabolic Syndrome (Group 2), and age- and sex-matched healthy controls (Group 3). Exclusion Criteria: * Non-Caucasian ethnicity; * Age \<6 or \>18 years; * Concomitant presence of chronic diseases, neoplasms, immunodeficiencies, chronic infections,autoimmune diseases, chronic inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, metabolic-genetic diseases, cystic fibrosis and other chronic lung diseases, cardiovascular/respiratory/gastrointestinal malformations, neuropsychiatric disorders, and neurological disorders; * Intake of antibiotics and/or pre/pro/synbiotics; * History of obesity surgery and onset of diarrhea or acute gastrointestinal illness during the 12 weeks prior to enrollment; * Presence of tattoos, scars, moles or special lesions on both forearms.
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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.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Department of Traslational Medical Science - University of Naples Federico II
Naples, Naples, 80131, Italy
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