Metabolic Adaptations to Weight Loss With and Without Exercise

Summary

Study Purpose:

The combination of caloric restriction and exercise is the most common first-line treatment for obesity-related disorders, yet we know very little about how these two very different treatments work together. A deeper understanding about mechanisms underlying the health benefits of adding exercise to a weight loss program will not only aid efforts to optimize more effective lifestyle interventions, but it can also uncover novel targets for the treatment/prevention of obesity-related diseases.

Although a reduction in body fat is the fundamental adaptation to weight loss, we know almost nothing about the effects that adding exercise has on structural and functional changes within fat tissue that may further enhance metabolic health. This is very important because many obesity-related metabolic health complications are tightly linked with abnormalities in abdominal fat tissue. We argue exercise-induced modifications in abdominal fat tissue will reveal persistent health benefits even if some weight is regained

Study Summary:

10% Weight Loss Phase - Subject participation in the study will involve a series of metabolic tests before, at midpoint, and after undergoing a 10% weight loss program (with or without exercise training depending on group randomization). During this, subjects will be randomized into one of two different experimental groups:

1. Moderate Intensity Continuous Training (MICT) exercise group
2. No exercise (control) group

Follow-up Phase: After completing the metabolic testing post-weight loss, all study-related diet and exercise supervision will end and subjects will be free to make their own choices regarding diet and exercise/physical activity behavior. Subjects will then be asked to complete follow-up testing at 2-, 4- and 6- months post-weight loss.

Total involvement in the study for each subject will likely be about 10-13 months (4-7 months during weight loss phase, 6 months during follow-up phase).

Conditions

• Obesity
• Metabolic Disease
• Metabolic Syndrome
• Insulin Sensitivity
• Insulin Resistance
• Weight Loss

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

MICT Exercise

Subjects randomized into this group will complete a moderate intensity continuous exercise 4 days/week.

BEHAVIORAL

No Exercise (Control)

Subjects randomized into this group will remain sedentary throughout the duration of the study.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Michigan

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Jeffrey Horowitz, PhD · University of Michigan

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

40 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-07-19

Primary Completion

2027-08-01

Completion

2028-05-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations