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

Sponsor
Peking University
Study ID
NCT07712068
Status
Not Yet Recruiting

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Conditions

  • Inflamation
  • Insulin Resistance
  • Obesity & Overweight

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
10 Years - 17 Years
Healthy Volunteers
Accepted

Interventions

  • Carbohydrate-last eating — BEHAVIORAL
    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 — BEHAVIORAL
    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 Details

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.

Key Dates

First listed
Jul 17, 2026
Start date
Jul 31, 2026
Status verified
Jul 2026
Primary completion
Aug 31, 2026
Completion
Sep 30, 2026

Study Design

Enrollment
480 participants (estimated)
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
FACTORIAL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT

Arms

  • Experimental: Aerobic first and usual eating
    In this arm, participants will follow each of their training sessions by starting with warm up, then aerobic training, followed by anaerobic training, and lastly stretching and relaxation. For each meal, participants will be offered all food and can eat ad libitum.
  • Experimental: Anaerobic first and usual eating
    In this arm, participants will follow each of their training sessions by starting with warm up, then anaerobic training, followed by aerobic training, and lastly stretching and relaxation. For each meal, participants will be offered all food and can eat ad libitum.
  • Experimental: Anaerobic first and carbohydrate-last eating
    In this arm, participants will follow each of their training sessions by starting with warm up, then anaerobic training, followed by aerobic training, and lastly stretching and relaxation. 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.
  • Experimental: Aerobic first and carbohydrate-last eating
    In this arm, participants will follow each of their training sessions by starting with warm up, then aerobic training, followed by anaerobic training, and lastly stretching and relaxation. 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.

Primary Outcome Measure

Weight [ Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 28 days ]

Central Contacts

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