Could a High-Fat diet help tame eating disorder thoughts?
NCT ID NCT06000774
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether a therapeutic ketogenic diet can reduce troubling eating disorder symptoms like the drive to restrict, binge, or purge, and body dissatisfaction. It includes adults with anorexia nervosa (both weight-recovered and underweight) and bulimia nervosa. Over 14 weeks, researchers will monitor safety, mood, and changes in eating disorder behaviors.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- therapeutic ketogenic diet
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a dietary approach to help manage persistent eating disorder thoughts and behaviors.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small early study with only 20 participants, so results may not apply widely. The diet may be hard to follow or cause side effects.
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 20 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Oct 2023
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2027
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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18 to 45 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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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.
Weight-Recovered AN Inclusion Criteria: 1. Provision of signed and dated informed consent form 2. Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and availability for the duration of the study 3. Persons, aged 18 to 45 years 4. History of anorexia nervosa according to DSM-5 criteria 5. Weight recovered at the time of study inclusion (body mass index \> 17.5 kg/m2) 6. Greater or equal to 2 standard deviations scores of eating disorder-relevant behaviors on the Eating Disorder Inventory-3 and Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire 7. The following types of psychiatric medications are allowed: antidepressant, anxiolytic, atypical antipsychotic, mood stabilizers 8. English is primary spoken language Weight-Recovered AN Exclusion Criteria: 1. Pregnancy or lactation 2. Electrolyte, blood count, kidney function or liver function abnormalities 3. Psychosis 4. Neurocognitive disorders including dementias or traumatic brain injury that is symptomatic 5. Current alcohol use disorder (AUD) or substance use disorder (SUD) according to DSM-5 criteria 6. Uncontrolled hypertension 7. Hepatic impairment (Class-Pugh b or c) 8. Diabetes mellitus 9. Family history of porphyria 10. History of recent heart attack, vascular disease, or any other current acute medical conditions as determined by the principal investigator 11. Inability or unwillingness to adhere to the TKD diet for the duration of the study 12. Blind or illiterate individuals Underweight AN Sub-Study Inclusion Criteria: 1. Provision of signed and dated informed consent form 2. Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and availability for the duration of the study 3. Persons, aged 18 to 45 years 4. Anorexia nervosa according to DSM-5 criteria 5. Current Body Mass Index (BMI) at the time of study inclusion of 16.0 to 17.49 6. An elevated EDE-Q global score of 2.09 or greater 7. The following types of psychiatric medications are allowed: antidepressant, anxiolytic, atypical antipsychotic, mood stabilizers 8. English is primary spoken language Underweight AN Sub-Study Exclusion Criteria: 1. Pregnancy or lactation 2. Electrolyte, blood count, kidney function or liver function abnormalities 3. Psychosis 4. Neurocognitive disorders including dementias or traumatic brain injury that is symptomatic 5. Current alcohol use disorder (AUD) or substance use disorder (SUD) according to DSM-5 criteria 6. Uncontrolled hypertension 7. Hepatic impairment (Class-Pugh b or c) 8. Diabetes mellitus 9. Family history of porphyria 10. History of recent heart attack, vascular disease, or any other current acute medical conditions as determined by the principal investigator 11. Inability or unwillingness to adhere to the TKD diet for the duration of the study 12. Blind or illiterate individuals Bulimia Nervosa Pilot Inclusion Criteria: 1. Provision of signed and dated informed consent form 2. Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and availability for the duration of the study 3. Persons, aged 18 to 45 years 4. History of bulimia nervosa according to DSM-5 criteria 5. An elevated EDE-Q global score of 2.09 or greater 6. The following types of psychiatric medications are allowed: antidepressant, anxiolytic, atypical antipsychotic, mood stabilizers 7. English is primary spoken language Bulimia Nervosa Pilot Exclusion Criteria: 1. Pregnancy or lactation 2. Electrolyte, blood count, kidney function or liver function abnormalities 3. Psychosis 4. Neurocognitive disorders including dementias or traumatic brain injury that is symptomatic 5. Current alcohol use disorder (AUD) or substance use disorder (SUD) according to DSM-5 criteria 6. Uncontrolled hypertension 7. Hepatic impairment (Class-Pugh b or c) 8. Diabetes mellitus 9. Family history of porphyria 10. History of recent heart attack, vascular disease, or any other current acute medical conditions as determined by the principal investigator 11. Inability or unwillingness to adhere to the TKD diet for the duration of the study 12. Blind or illiterate individuals
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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
1 site. 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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University of California San Diego
RECRUITINGSan Diego, California, 92121, United States
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- Can video therapy match In-Person care for bulimia?
- Can a parent support group help teens with both autism and anorexia?