The Effects of Methylphenidate on Energy Intake and Energy Expenditure
Status:
Unknown status
Trial end date:
2018-12-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
The Problem: Obesity is one of the leading causes of chronic disease and death. The efficacy
of diet and exercise to sustain weight loss over the long term is weak. While pharmacotherapy
is more effective than behavior intervention in maintaining weight loss the effects are often
not sufficient to achieve optimal health benefits. Current drug treatments may be sub-optimal
because they do not directly target the rewarding value of food, drive to eat, food liking,
and impulsivity for eating energy dense snack foods, all of which influences both quantity
and quality of food intake and impacts adherence needed to maintain weight loss.
The Solution: The limitations in current anti-obesity agents are potentially addressed by
Methylphenidate (MPH). We showed that MPH reduces food intake, dietary fat intake, hunger and
food reward, as increase resting energy expenditure in obese and non-obese adults;however, no
controlled field trials have been conducted in obese individuals without ADHD.
Objectives/Hypotheses: Primary: To test the effects of MPH on energy intake in obese men and
women. Secondary: to examine the effects of MPH on energy expenditure, body weight,
impulsivity, food reward, and olfaction. The investigators predict that compared to placebo,
MPH will show reduced appetite, along with reduced impulsivity, food reward, and smell
function.
Deliverable: This study may be the first to establish the short-term efficacy and safety of
using MPH for weight loss, and if successful, data will inform a larger trial that can
potentially identify MPH as a novel therapeutic agent for treating obesity and related
chronic diseases in a predisposed population.