---
title: Genetic Predisposition to Food Cue Reactivity in Children
nct_id: NCT03766191
overall_status: COMPLETED
phase: NA
sponsor: Trustees of Dartmouth College
study_type: INTERVENTIONAL
primary_condition: Childhood Obesity
countries: United States
canonical_url: "https://parkinsonspathways.com/agent/trials/NCT03766191.md"
clinicaltrials_gov: "https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03766191"
ct_last_update_post_date: 2024-11-21
last_seen_at: "2026-05-12T06:05:03.585Z"
source: ClinicalTrials.gov (mirrored, no enrichment)
---
# Genetic Predisposition to Food Cue Reactivity in Children

**Official Title:** The Relation of Genetic Factors, Food Cues, and Self-Regulation With Excess Consumption and Adiposity in Children

**NCT ID:** [NCT03766191](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03766191)

## Key Facts

- **Status:** COMPLETED
- **Phase:** NA
- **Study Type:** INTERVENTIONAL
- **Target Enrollment:** 189
- **Lead Sponsor:** Trustees of Dartmouth College
- **Collaborators:** Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Dartmouth College
- **Conditions:** Childhood Obesity
- **Start Date:** 2019-01-10
- **Completion Date:** 2024-03-27
- **CT.gov Last Update:** 2024-11-21

## Brief Summary

This study assesses the associations between genetic factors, food-cue-related neural reactivity, self-regulatory capacity, eating in the absence of hunger (EAH), and adiposity gain in children.

## Detailed Description

The investigators will assess the associations between genetic factors, food-cue-related neural reactivity, eating in the absence of hunger (EAH) in response to food cues, and adiposity gain in children. They will also determine whether self-regulatory capacity modifies these associations. The genetic factors explored specifically include FTO, MC4R, polymorphisms in genes involved in dopaminergic pathways, and a composite genetic risk score built from genome-wide obesity-related loci.

\[3/14/2020\]: Study recruitment temporarily halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic

## Eligibility

- **Minimum age:** 8 Years
- **Maximum age:** 12 Years
- **Sex:** ALL
- **Healthy Volunteers:** Yes

```
Inclusion Criteria:

* English fluency
* Willingness to participate in all study visits

Exclusion Criteria:

* Relevant food allergies or dietary restrictions
* Metal in or on the body
* Claustrophobia
* Psychiatric and neurological disorders
* Relative in the study
* Appetite- or attention-altering medications or disorders
```

## Arms

- **Food Ads and fMRI** (ACTIVE_COMPARATOR) — Exposure to food ads during an fMRI scan
- **Non-Food Ads and fMRI** (SHAM_COMPARATOR) — Exposure to non-food ads during an fMRI scan
- **Food Ads and TV show** (ACTIVE_COMPARATOR) — Exposure to food ads embedded in an age-appropriate TV program
- **Non-Food Ads and TV show** (SHAM_COMPARATOR) — Exposure to non-food ads embedded in an age-appropriate TV program

## Interventions

- **Food Ads** (BEHAVIORAL) — Exposure to foods ads embedded in an age-appropriate TV program
- **Non-food Ads** (OTHER) — Exposure to non-food ads embedded in an age-appropriate TV program

## Primary Outcomes

- **Food-cue-related neural activity** _(time frame: Baseline)_ — Activation in brain reward regions in response to food vs. non-food cues, as measured by differences in the blood-oxygen-level dependent response during fMRI scans. Investigators will examine associations between polymorphisms in FTO, MC4R, as well as a genetic risk score with the differential neural activity.
- **Food-cue-related Eating in the Absence of Hunger (EAH)** _(time frame: Baseline, 2 weeks, 4 weeks)_ — Difference in kcals consumed in response to food vs. non-food cue exposure in the behavioral sessions. Investigators will examine how differential neural activity in response to food vs. non-food cues will relate to EAH. Investigators will also assess whether self-regulatory capacity diminishes this association between differential neural activity and EAH.
- **Change in BMI** _(time frame: Baseline, 1-year followup)_ — Difference between BMI z-score according to the Center for DiseaSe Control 2000 Growth Reference Curves assessed at baseline and follow-up. Investigators will assess the associations between genetic factors (polymorphisms in FTO, MC4R; and a genetic obesity risk score), food-cue-related neural activity and EAH with change in BMI.

## Locations (1)

- Dartmouth-Hitchcock, Lebanon, New Hampshire, United States

## Recent Field Changes (last 30 days)

- `status.overallStatus` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `status.primaryCompletionDate` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `status.completionDate` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `status.lastUpdatePostDate` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `design.phases` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `design.enrollmentCount` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `eligibility.criteria` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `eligibility.minAge` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `eligibility.maxAge` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `eligibility.sex` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `outcomes.primary` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `armsInterventions.arms` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `armsInterventions.interventions` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `sponsor.lead` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `sponsor.collaborators` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `results.hasResults` — added _(2026-05-12)_
- `locations.dartmouth-hitchcock|lebanon|new hampshire|united states` — added _(2026-05-12)_

---

*Canonical: https://parkinsonspathways.com/agent/trials/NCT03766191.md*  
*Source data (authoritative): https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03766191*  
*This page is a raw mirror with no AI summary, no editorial enrichment, and no Parkinson's-specific filtering.*