Pediatric ObesityMEAL-TIMENCT07095166
Monitoring Eating Across Locations (MEAL) - Timing, Intake, and Mealtime Evaluation (TIME)
A study testing Meal Location in people with Pediatric Obesity, run by Penn State University at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
Increased availability of high-energy dense foods has contributed to a pediatric obesity epidemic, with 23% of United States children currently presenting with the disease. How children eat contributes to both overconsumption and greater adiposity. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 6 to 9 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Pediatric Obesity
- What is being tested?
- Meal Location
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 100 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 15 Nov 2025to 15 Oct 2027
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 6 to 9 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child
Who may be able to join
- children must be between the ages of 6-9 years-old
- children are of good health with no learning disabilities (e.g., ADHD, determined by parent report)
- children are not on any medications known to impact body weight, taste, food intake, behavior, or blood flow
- parents report that children like and are willing to eat study foods
Who cannot join
- Children are not within the age requirements (<6 years old or > 9 years old)
- If children are taking cold or allergy medication, or other medications known to influence cognitive function, taste, appetite, or blood flow.
- If children don't speak English.
- If children are colorblind.
- If children have a learning disability, ADD/ADHD, language delays, autism or other neurological or psychological conditions.
- If children have a pre-existing medical condition such as type I or type II diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, Cushing's syndrome, Down's syndrome, severe lactose intolerance, Prader-Willi syndrome, HIV, cancer, renal failure, or cerebral palsy.
- If children are allergic to foods or ingredients used in the study.
- child received an X-ray in the previous year (to avoid excess radiation exposure due to the DXA scans performed in the research)
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
United States1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
Pennsylvania State University
State College, Pennsylvania, 16801
Alaina Pearce, PhD, 3206305713, azp271@psu.edu
About this study
Increased availability of high-energy dense foods has contributed to a pediatric obesity epidemic, with 23% of United States children currently presenting with the disease. How children eat contributes to both overconsumption and greater adiposity. However, it is unclear if laboratory measures of children's eating style generalize to the home environment, where children consume two thirds of their total energy. The study will 1) test if child eating styles observed in the lab generalize to more ecologically valid home environments and 2) identify aspects of home food environment that amplify obesogenic eating behaviors. We will assess laboratory and home eating styles (e.g., bite rate) in 100 prepubertal 6-9-year-old children to constrain variability in energy requirements. Children will be video-recorded while consuming identical study-provided meals at home and in the laboratory (counter-balanced order) in addition to a 'typical' meal at home. To study how adiposity relates to "obesogenic" styles of eating, gold standard dual x-ray absorptiometry will be used.
- Conditions
- Pediatric Obesity
- Being tested
- Meal Location
- Keywords
- eating behavior, meal microstructure, child, obesity
- Medical subject headings
- Pediatric Obesity, Feeding Behavior, Obesity
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Meal LocationBehavioural
The location at which the child will eat the experimental meal - home or lab
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Home vs Lab Eating Behavior | Experimental | Examine differences in participants' eating at home versus in the lab Receives: Behavioral: Meal Location |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Child body mass index
child height and weight will be measured
Measured: Day 1
Food intake in grams during a standard meal
Intake in grams from standard meal
Measured: Day 1 and Day 2 or 3 depending on randomization
Food intake in kcal during a standard meal
Intake in kcal during a standard meal
Measured: Day 1 and Day 2 or 3 depending on randomization
Video coding of standard meal
A digital recording of the child eating a standard meal will be saved. The study team have developed a behavior coding protocol to measure child meal microstructure (e.g., bites, bite size, meal duration) and have also validated a computational model to assess cumulative intake curves from video coded bite data.
Measured: Day 1 and Day 2 or 3 depending on randomization
Food intake in grams during a snack buffet when not hungry
Intake in grams during a snack buffet using a standard eating in the absence of hunger paradigm (i.e., non-homeostatic intake)
Measured: Day 1
Food intake in kcal during a snack buffet when not hungry
Intake in kcal during a snack buffet using a standard eating in the absence of hunger paradigm (i.e., non-homeostatic intake)
Measured: Day 1
Body Composition
Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to assess body composition including fat mass and fat-free mass in children
Measured: Day 1
Food intake in grams during a Study Meal
Intake in grams from Study Meal
Measured: Day 2 or 3 depending on randomization and home meal administration
Food intake in kcal during the Study Meal
Intake in kcal during the Study Meal
Measured: Day 2 or 3 depending on randomization and home meal administration
Video coding of the study meal
A digital recording of the child eating a Study Meal will be saved. The study team have developed a behavior coding protocol to measure child meal microstructure (e.g., bites, bite size, meal duration) and have also validated a computational model to assess cumulative intake curves from video coded bite data.
Measured: Day 2 or 3 depending on randomization and home meal administration
Video coding of home meals
Digital recordings of the child eating a typical meals at home. The study team have developed a behavior coding protocol to measure child meal microstructure (e.g., bites, bite size, meal duration) and have also validated a computational model to assess cumulative intake curves from video coded bite data.
Measured: Week 1 and Week 2
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted31 Jul 2025
- Study start15 Nov 2025
- Primary completion15 Jun 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion15 Oct 2027 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (7)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Pediatric ObesityStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Penn State UniversityThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 100 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Penn State University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Alaina Pearce, Penn State University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07095166
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- STUDY00026981
- Acronym
- MEAL-TIME
- Status last verified
- Mar 2026
- First submitted
- 9 Jul 2025
- Last updated
- 6 Mar 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: All de-identified IPD will be shared. For identifiable video data, data will only be shared if participants consent to sharing their videos in a restricted repository called Databrary.
Publications
Neuwald NV, Pearce AL, Cunningham PM, Setzenfand MN, Koczwara L, Rolls BJ, Keller KL. Food switching at a meal is positively associated with change in adiposity among children at high-familial risk for obesity. Appetite. 2025 Apr 1;208:107915. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2025.107915. Epub 2025 Feb 25.
PubMed 40010570Neuwald NV, Pearce AL, Adise S, Rolls BJ, Keller KL. Switching between foods: A potential behavioral phenotype of hedonic hunger and increased obesity risk in children. Physiol Behav. 2023 Oct 15;270:114312. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114312. Epub 2023 Aug 4.
PubMed 37543104Fogel A, Fries LR, McCrickerd K, Goh AT, Quah PL, Chan MJ, Toh JY, Chong YS, Tan KH, Yap F, Shek LP, Meaney MJ, Broekman BFP, Lee YS, Godfrey KM, Fong Chong MF, Forde CG. Oral processing behaviours that promote children's energy intake are associated with parent-reported appetitive traits: Results from the GUSTO cohort. Appetite. 2018 Jul 1;126:8-15. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2018.03.011. Epub 2018 Mar 15.
PubMed 29551400Fogel A, Goh AT, Fries LR, Sadananthan SA, Velan SS, Michael N, Tint MT, Fortier MV, Chan MJ, Toh JY, Chong YS, Tan KH, Yap F, Shek LP, Meaney MJ, Broekman BFP, Lee YS, Godfrey KM, Chong MFF, Forde CG. A description of an 'obesogenic' eating style that promotes higher energy intake and is associated with greater adiposity in 4.5year-old children: Results from the GUSTO cohort. Physiol Behav. 2017 Jul 1;176:107-116. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.02.013. Epub 2017 Feb 14.
PubMed 28213204Fogel A, Goh AT, Fries LR, Sadananthan SA, Velan SS, Michael N, Tint MT, Fortier MV, Chan MJ, Toh JY, Chong YS, Tan KH, Yap F, Shek LP, Meaney MJ, Broekman BFP, Lee YS, Godfrey KM, Chong MFF, Forde CG. Faster eating rates are associated with higher energy intakes during an ad libitum meal, higher BMI and greater adiposity among 4.5-year-old children: results from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) cohort. Br J Nutr. 2017 Apr;117(7):1042-1051. doi: 10.1017/S0007114517000848. Epub 2017 May 2.
PubMed 28462734Pearce AL, Cevallos MC, Romano O, Daoud E, Keller KL. Child meal microstructure and eating behaviors: A systematic review. Appetite. 2022 Jan 1;168:105752. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2021.105752. Epub 2021 Oct 16.
PubMed 34662600Pearce AL, Adise S, Roberts NJ, White C, Geier CF, Keller KL. Individual differences in the influence of taste and health impact successful dietary self-control: A mouse tracking food choice study in children. Physiol Behav. 2020 Sep 1;223:112990. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.112990. Epub 2020 Jun 4.
PubMed 32505786
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 6 Mar 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Monitoring Eating Across Locations (MEAL) - Timing, Intake, and Mealtime Evaluation (TIME)
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07095166
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- MEAL-TIME / STUDY00026981
- Conditions
- Pediatric Obesity
- Keywords
- eating behavior, meal microstructure, child, obesity
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 100 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Penn State UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 15 Nov 2025 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 15 Jun 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 15 Oct 2027 (estimated)
- First posted
- 31 Jul 2025 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Increased availability of high-energy dense foods has contributed to a pediatric obesity epidemic, with 23% of United States children currently presenting with the disease. How children eat contributes to both overconsumption and greater adiposity. However, it is unclear if laboratory measures of children's eating style generalize to the home environment, where children consume two thirds of their total energy. The study will 1) test if child eating styles observed in the lab generalize to more ecologically valid home environments and 2) identify aspects of home food environment that amplify obesogenic eating behaviors. We will assess laboratory and home eating styles (e.g., bite rate) in 100 prepubertal 6-9-year-old children to constrain variability in energy requirements. Children will be video-recorded while consuming identical study-provided meals at home and in the laboratory (counter-balanced order) in addition to a 'typical' meal at home. To study how adiposity relates to "obesogenic" styles of eating, gold standard dual x-ray absorptiometry will be used.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Home vs Lab Eating Behavior | Experimental | Behavioral: Meal LocationExamine differences in participants' eating at home versus in the lab |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 6 to 9 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- children must be between the ages of 6-9 years-old
- children are of good health with no learning disabilities (e.g., ADHD, determined by parent report)
- children are not on any medications known to impact body weight, taste, food intake, behavior, or blood flow
- parents report that children like and are willing to eat study foods
Key exclusion criteria (8 listed)
- Children are not within the age requirements (<6 years old or > 9 years old)
- If children are taking cold or allergy medication, or other medications known to influence cognitive function, taste, appetite, or blood flow.
- If children don't speak English.
- If children are colorblind.
- If children have a learning disability, ADD/ADHD, language delays, autism or other neurological or psychological conditions.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Meal LocationThe location at which the child will eat the experimental meal - home or lab | Behavioural | Home vs Lab Eating Behavior |
Primary outcome
Child body mass index
Time frame: Day 1
child height and weight will be measured
Food intake in grams during a standard meal
Time frame: Day 1 and Day 2 or 3 depending on randomization
Intake in grams from standard meal
Food intake in kcal during a standard meal
Time frame: Day 1 and Day 2 or 3 depending on randomization
Intake in kcal during a standard meal
Video coding of standard meal
Time frame: Day 1 and Day 2 or 3 depending on randomization
A digital recording of the child eating a standard meal will be saved. The study team have developed a behavior coding protocol to measure child meal microstructure (e.g., bites, bite size, meal duration) and have also validated a computational model to assess cumulative intake curves from video coded bite data.
Food intake in grams during a snack buffet when not hungry
Time frame: Day 1
Intake in grams during a snack buffet using a standard eating in the absence of hunger paradigm (i.e., non-homeostatic intake)
Food intake in kcal during a snack buffet when not hungry
Time frame: Day 1
Intake in kcal during a snack buffet using a standard eating in the absence of hunger paradigm (i.e., non-homeostatic intake)
Body Composition
Time frame: Day 1
Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to assess body composition including fat mass and fat-free mass in children
Food intake in grams during a Study Meal
Time frame: Day 2 or 3 depending on randomization and home meal administration
Intake in grams from Study Meal
Food intake in kcal during the Study Meal
Time frame: Day 2 or 3 depending on randomization and home meal administration
Intake in kcal during the Study Meal
Video coding of the study meal
Time frame: Day 2 or 3 depending on randomization and home meal administration
A digital recording of the child eating a Study Meal will be saved. The study team have developed a behavior coding protocol to measure child meal microstructure (e.g., bites, bite size, meal duration) and have also validated a computational model to assess cumulative intake curves from video coded bite data.
Video coding of home meals
Time frame: Week 1 and Week 2
Digital recordings of the child eating a typical meals at home. The study team have developed a behavior coding protocol to measure child meal microstructure (e.g., bites, bite size, meal duration) and have also validated a computational model to assess cumulative intake curves from video coded bite data.
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 6 Mar 2026.
- Background: PubMed 40010570Neuwald NV, Pearce AL, Cunningham PM, Setzenfand MN, Koczwara L, Rolls BJ, Keller KL. Food switching at a meal is positively associated with change in adiposity among children at high-familial risk for obesity. Appetite. 2025 Apr 1;208:107915. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2025.107915. Epub 2025 Feb 25.
- Background: PubMed 37543104Neuwald NV, Pearce AL, Adise S, Rolls BJ, Keller KL. Switching between foods: A potential behavioral phenotype of hedonic hunger and increased obesity risk in children. Physiol Behav. 2023 Oct 15;270:114312. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114312. Epub 2023 Aug 4.
- Background: PubMed 29551400Fogel A, Fries LR, McCrickerd K, Goh AT, Quah PL, Chan MJ, Toh JY, Chong YS, Tan KH, Yap F, Shek LP, Meaney MJ, Broekman BFP, Lee YS, Godfrey KM, Fong Chong MF, Forde CG. Oral processing behaviours that promote children's energy intake are associated with parent-reported appetitive traits: Results from the GUSTO cohort. Appetite. 2018 Jul 1;126:8-15. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2018.03.011. Epub 2018 Mar 15.
- Background: PubMed 28213204Fogel A, Goh AT, Fries LR, Sadananthan SA, Velan SS, Michael N, Tint MT, Fortier MV, Chan MJ, Toh JY, Chong YS, Tan KH, Yap F, Shek LP, Meaney MJ, Broekman BFP, Lee YS, Godfrey KM, Chong MFF, Forde CG. A description of an 'obesogenic' eating style that promotes higher energy intake and is associated with greater adiposity in 4.5year-old children: Results from the GUSTO cohort. Physiol Behav. 2017 Jul 1;176:107-116. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.02.013. Epub 2017 Feb 14.
- Background: PubMed 28462734Fogel A, Goh AT, Fries LR, Sadananthan SA, Velan SS, Michael N, Tint MT, Fortier MV, Chan MJ, Toh JY, Chong YS, Tan KH, Yap F, Shek LP, Meaney MJ, Broekman BFP, Lee YS, Godfrey KM, Chong MFF, Forde CG. Faster eating rates are associated with higher energy intakes during an ad libitum meal, higher BMI and greater adiposity among 4.5-year-old children: results from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) cohort. Br J Nutr. 2017 Apr;117(7):1042-1051. doi: 10.1017/S0007114517000848. Epub 2017 May 2.
- Background: PubMed 34662600Pearce AL, Cevallos MC, Romano O, Daoud E, Keller KL. Child meal microstructure and eating behaviors: A systematic review. Appetite. 2022 Jan 1;168:105752. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2021.105752. Epub 2021 Oct 16.
- Background: PubMed 32505786Pearce AL, Adise S, Roberts NJ, White C, Geier CF, Keller KL. Individual differences in the influence of taste and health impact successful dietary self-control: A mouse tracking food choice study in children. Physiol Behav. 2020 Sep 1;223:112990. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.112990. Epub 2020 Jun 4.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. All de-identified IPD will be shared. For identifiable video data, data will only be shared if participants consent to sharing their videos in a restricted repository called Databrary.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Meal Location in people with Pediatric Obesity, run by Penn State University at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 8 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 6 Mar 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Each site lists its own contact: choose the nearest one under Trial locations. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Child body mass index (time frame: Day 1). The study lists 11 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT07095166, which also lists 7 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 6 Mar 2026.