Effects of Exercise Sequence and Meal Sequence on Weight Management Among Children and Adolescents With Overweight or Obesity: The STEP Trial

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Carbohydrate-last eating: This intervention requires participants to eat each meal in sequencial order. They will eat half to two-thirds of all vegetables and meat/protein foods, and then start eating carbohydrate such as starchy tubers or staple foods to finish their meal.

Sequential training: This intervention requires participants to follow each structured training session with designated sequence of physical activity. Participants will either follow aerobic training first and anaerobic training second within each session, or vice versa.

Study summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn how the order of exercise and the order of eating food affect weight management in overweight and obese children and adolescents. The main questions it aims to answer are whether doing aerobic or anaerobic exercise first changes weight loss results, and whether eating vegetables and proteins before carbohydrates improves health outcomes compared to a standard diet. Furthermore, the study asks how the exercise order and eating order work together to affect weight and health. Researchers will compare four different groups to see if these specific exercise and eating orders work better to treat obesity. Participants will stay at a closed weight loss camp for 28 days and do daily aerobic and anaerobic exercises in a randomly assigned order. They will eat meals in either a strict order, consuming vegetables and proteins first, or a standard order. Throughout the trial, participants will give blood, urine, stool, saliva, and sweat samples for lab tests, while also checking their body weight, body composition, and heart rate. Finally, they will answer surveys about their diet, physical activity, hunger, and tiredness.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Weight — From enrollment to the end of treatment at 28 days
  Measures the body weight change in kg
• Body fat — From enrollment to the end of treatment at 28 days
  Changes in body fat percentage
• HOMA-IR — From enrollment to the end of treatment at 28 days
  Changs in HOMA-IR, or insulin resistance, in participants

Trial sites (9)

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