Could cutting junk food cause withdrawal? new study aims to find out
NCT ID NCT06044285
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study looks at whether reducing ultra-processed foods—like chips, soda, and fast food—causes withdrawal symptoms such as anger or anxiety. Researchers will monitor 210 adults with signs of food addiction as they follow a low-UP diet for a week, tracking cravings, stress, and diet adherence. The goal is to understand why it's hard to stick with healthy eating changes.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this study could help explain why people struggle to stick with a diet low in ultra-processed foods, pointing toward better strategies for managing food addiction.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage observational study with no treatment being tested. Results may not apply to everyone, and the findings are about understanding the problem, not solving it yet.
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 210 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Aug 2023
- Expected to finish
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Aug 2028
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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22 to 60 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.
Inclusion Criteria: * 22 to 60 years of age * English-speaking * Must own an Android or iPhone Smartphone * Live within a 1-hour radius of the laboratory * endorsement of \> 4 symptoms on the YFAS 2.0 completed during eligibility screener; at the time of consent, symptom count must remain above threshold for food addiction (this discrepany is based on a previously found tendency during pilot testing to overestimate food addiction symptoms at the time of screening) * Willing and able to follow specific dietary instructions provided by the study team * Willing and able to attend 3 in-person lab visits * Willing to complete 4 phone interviews about foods eaten in the past 24 hours * Willing to report daily intake of food * Like the taste of chocolate milkshake (for fMRI scan eligibility only). Exclusion Criteria: * participants with a self-reported BMI \< 18.5 and \> 40 * Current diagnosis of disorder that may impact study results or the ability to safely complete study tasks (hypothyroidism (uncontrolled by medication), diabetes, etc.) * History of food allergies * Unable to respond to brief questionnaires within 90-minutes during the day * Work night shifts or irregular shifts * Restrictive dietary requirements (e.g., vegan) or high levels of picky eating * Medications (e.g., insulin, antipsychotic medications) that may impact study results or safe completion of study tasks * Diagnosis of severe mental illness (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder) * Diagnosis of a restrictive eating disorder (e.g., Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, purging disorder) within the last 5 years * Current diagnoses of disorders that can impact reward/metabolic functioning * 20+ pound weight fluctuation in the last 3-months * Prior weight loss surgery (e.g., bariatric surgery) * Currently pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant, or within 6-months of having given birth * High levels or high-risk intake of alcohol or caffeine * Use of tobacco or nicotine in the past month * Use of THC cannabis within the past week * Unwillingness to abstain from THC cannabis, tobacco or nicotine during the main portion of the study (\~22 days) * fMRI contraindications (e.g., claustrophobia, metal implants). * inability to complete a random report within 90 minutes
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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 Michigan
RECRUITINGAnn Arbor, Michigan, 48109, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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