A Sensory Strategy to Cut Sugary Beverages in African/American and Latine Adolescents

Part of paid clinical trials in Bloomington, Indiana.

Sponsor
Nana Gletsu Miller
Study ID
NCT07223151
Status
Recruiting
Apply to this trial

Conditions

  • Dietary Sugars
  • Feeding Behavior
  • Insulin Resistance
  • Obesity, Adolescent
  • Taste Perception

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
12 Years - 18 Years
Healthy Volunteers
Accepted

Interventions

  • Unsweetened Sparkling Water Replacement — BEHAVIORAL
    Participants replace all sugar-sweetened sodas with flavored, unsweetened sparkling waters for 4 weeks.
  • Progressively Reduced Sugar Beverage Replacement — BEHAVIORAL
    Participants replace sugary sodas with beverages containing gradually decreasing sugar concentrations (weekly), ending with unsweetened sparkling water.
  • Plain Water Replacement — BEHAVIORAL
    Participants replace all sugar-sweetened sodas with plain, still water for 4 weeks. This serves as a comparator to evaluate sensory and metabolic changes.

Study Details

The goal of this clinical trial is to test whether replacing sugary sodas with unsweetened, flavored sparkling waters can reduce added sugar intake and improve health in Black/African American and Latine adolescents with obesity who prefer sweet-tasting beverages. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does replacing sugary sodas with water change liking for sugary drinks, and water? * Do shifts in liking for sweetness lead to improved diet quality and cardiometabolic health? Researchers will compare replacing sugary sodas with one of three alternative beverages: unsweetened sparkling water, plain water, and beverages with gradually reduced sugar to determine which strategy is most effective. Participants will: * Replace sugary sodas with study drinks for 4 weeks * Complete taste tests to measure their liking for and sensory experience of sweetness over 8-weeks * Provide dietary recalls, body measurements, and blood samples over 8-weeks

Key Dates

Start date
Jul 25, 2025
Status verified
Oct 2025
Primary completion
Jun 30, 2027
Completion
Jun 30, 2027

Study Design

Enrollment
63 participants (estimated)
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION

Arms

  • Experimental: Unsweetened Sparkling Water (USW)
    Participants in this group will replace all sugar-sweetened sodas with flavored, unsweetened sparkling waters for 4 weeks.
  • Experimental: Progressively Reduced Sugar (PRS)
    Participants in this group will replace sugar-sweetened sodas with carbonated beverages that contain decreasing levels of sugar each week over a 4-week period, ending with a fully unsweetened sparkling water.
  • Active Comparator: Plain Water (PW)
    Participants in this group will replace all sugar-sweetened sodas with plain, still water for 4 weeks. This arm serves as a control to compare outcomes against both the unsweetened sparkling water and gradually reduced sugar beverage interventions.

Primary Outcome Measure

Liking ratings changes for sugar concentrations over time [ Time Frame: Baseline, Week 2, Week 4, Week 8 ]

Central Contacts

Locations (3)

FacilityCityStateZIPSite coordinators
Indiana University School of Public Health - BloomingtonBloomingtonIndiana47405
Nana Gletsu Miller, PhD
[email protected]
812-855-9110
Indiana University HospitalIndianapolisIndiana46202
Nana Gletsu Miller, PhD
[email protected]
812-855-7643
Purdue UniversityWest LafayetteIndiana47907
Cordelia Running, PhD
[email protected]
765-494-2282

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