# Targeting food cue responsiveness for weight loss

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2021 · $689,016

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Two out of every three adults has overweight or obesity, which is associated with significant medical and
psychological consequences. To date, the most successful weight loss treatment is behavioral weight loss
(BWL), which includes nutrition and physical activity education, as well as behavior therapy techniques.
Although some adults lose weight in these programs, one third to one half do not respond with even bleaker
rates of weight loss maintenance over time. These low success rates suggest that there are underlying
mechanisms, such as appetitive traits, that may interfere with response to BWL and underscore the critical
need to develop targeted models for the treatment of obesity. Our data suggest that high food responsiveness
(FR) is a risk factor for failure in BWL. We have developed a new model for the treatment of obesity based on
the Behavioral Susceptibility Theory, called Regulation of Cues (ROC), that focuses on decreasing FR and
improving satiety responsiveness (SR). In this study, we propose to recruit adults with overweight and obesity
who also exhibit high levels of FR to test the efficacy of an enhanced ROC treatment program (ROC+) for this
specific behavioral phenotype. We propose a 3 arm randomized controlled trial that will compare ROC+, BWL
and an active comparator (AC). We will recruit and randomize 300 adults with overweight and obesity and will
assess them at baseline, during treatment, post-treatment, and at 6- and 12-month follow-up. Primary and
secondary aims are as follows. Primary Aim 1: Compare ROC+ to AC on body mass index (BMI) over the
course of treatment and follow-up. Primary Aim 2: Compare ROC+ to BWL on body mass index (BMI) over the
course of treatment and follow-up. Secondary Aim 1: Compare BWL to AC on body mass index (BMI) over the
course of treatment and follow-up. Secondary Aim 2: Compare ROC+, BWL and AC on sensitivity to satiety,
sensitivity to food cues, inhibition, restriction, caloric intake, and overeating over the course of the treatment
and follow-up. Exploratory aim 1: Evaluate effects of mediators (FR, SR, restriction, overeating) and
moderators (demographics, baseline BMI) of treatment effects on weight loss over time. This program of
research is an important next step in the development of treatments for specific phenotypes of adults with
overweight/obesity, and could change the paradigm of obesity treatment for these individuals. This study will
contribute to the study of appetitive phenotypes of obesity, will provide a targeted treatment for individuals with
high FR, and could inform clinical decision making for adults with obesity.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10219239
- **Project number:** 5R01DK122504-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Kerri N Boutelle
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $689,016
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-09-01 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10219239

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10219239, Targeting food cue responsiveness for weight loss (5R01DK122504-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10219239. Licensed CC0.

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