Direct Measurement of Microstructure of Ingestive Behaviour After Initiation of GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Treatment at Maximum Dose (DIGRAT)

Ingestion of food instigates the release of a battery of enteroendocrine peptide hormones that help control gut motility and digestive secretion. Peptide hormone products of the enteroendocrine L-cell and GLP-1 in particular, play multiple roles in relation to the regulation of pancreatic islet function and gastric emptying and the induction of satiety pathways in the central nervous system The mechanism of action of GLP-1 RAs on food intake reduction is mainly mediated through both peripheral and central nervous system (CNS) pathways. GLP-1 RAs directly stimulates POMC neurons and inhibits neuropeptide-Y (NPY) and Agouti-related peptide (AgRP) neurons in the arcuate nucleus resulting in a reduction in hunger and increases in fullness4. While there were studies which indirectly measured the changes of food preference and eating behaviour in humans after using GLP-1 RAs via visual analogue scales (VAS) or Patient's Experiences Questionnaires the investigators found there is a necessity to conduct the studies to do direct measurements of the changes of food preference and eating behaviour. Direct measures of an altered food selection in humans after using GLP-1 RAs have virtually not been performed likely due to the significant methodological and conceptual challenges they pose to researchers and study design. However, direct measures represent an essential component in the attempt to understand how GLP-1 RAs alters eating and diet selection which is the main reason of conducting this study. This innovative experiment will be a critical and a novel test of the explicit experience of humans with high-sugar high-fat fluids after using GLP-1 RAs and its potential role for the understanding of possible mechanisms determining post-treatment outcome such as weight loss.

NCT Number	NCT07457424
Lead Sponsor	University College Dublin Collaborators: University of Zurich
Conditions	Metabolic Disease, Obesity & Overweight
Enrollment	140 participants
Start Date	2022-02-17
Primary Completion	2026-08-31 (estimated)
Study Completion	2027-01-31 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-05-15