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Help us research fat tissue inflammation and the regulation of muscle in older people

Take part in research into whether differing levels of fat tissue inflammation are linked to levels of muscle loss as people age.

The aim of this research study is to directly assess how well older people with different levels of fat tissue inflammation are able to produce muscle in response to exercise and nutrition. We also want to try and work out which cells in the fat tissue are producing the molecules causing inflammation.

We hope this project will pave the way for new strategies and treatments to maintain muscle mass and strength and prevent frailty with ageing, thus helping help people to stay active and independent for longer.

Explore this research project

Take part in this research

This research study will run until October 2027.


What you’ll do

You will attend two (20-30 years old) or three visits (65-75 years old). The first two visits will take place at the University of Bath, and the third visit (for 65-75 year olds only) will take place at the University of Exeter.

Across these visits, we will take basic measurements of your body. These will include:

  • how much muscle and fat you have
  • levels of fat tissue inflammation
  • blood sugar
  • cognitive function

The visit to Exeter will take a full day. It will include a resistance exercise protocol to assess your muscle protein metabolism.

In between visits, you'll be required to wear an activity monitoring device (we will provide this). You will also complete a food diary. This will allow us to monitor your diet, physical activity and sleep. Other than these requirements, you will continue to lead your normal life without any adjustments.

What you’ll get

At the end of the study, you'll be given a copy of your results and personalised feedback regarding diet, physical activity levels, cognitive performance and blood pressure, as well as a body composition analysis from the DEXA scan (the amount of muscle and fat that you have and bone density).

You'll also receive payment in the form of Love2shop gift vouchers worth up to:

  • (20-30 year olds) £100 for attending both visit 1 and visit 2
  • (65-70 year olds) £200 for attending all three visits (visit 1 and visit 2 at Bath, and visit 3 at the University of Exeter)

You will also be reimbursed for reasonable travel expenses.

Your data

Throughout the study, all documents will only contain your unique study code which you will be assigned if you enrol.

Any identifiable personal data will be kept on a password-protected file on the University’s servers, in accordance with the current UK Data Protection regulations.

Ethical approval

This research has received favourable ethical approval from the Wales Research Ethics Committee 7 Carmarthen. Ethics approval: 24/WA/0242

Eligibility

Volunteers for this research project must meet our criteria.


To take part in this research project, you must be:

  • 20-30 years old or 65 to 75 years old
  • be more than one year since last menses (postmenopausal women)
  • able to provide informed consent
  • willing and able to comply with all study procedures - including maintenance of habitual dietary intake, exercise, and medication use - during the study period

You can’t take part in this study if you:

  • live in a residential care home
  • have unstable or clinically active pulmonary, cardiac, hepatic, renal, endocrine, hematologic, immunologic, neurologic, psychiatric or biliary disorders. ‘Unstable’ refers to complications of a condition that are not controlled by medication or lifestyle and which require frequent monitoring and testing by a health professional. Unless specified below, if you have stable chronic disease, you may still be eligible to participate
  • have diagnosed Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus or another metabolic disease(s) that would affect study outcomes
  • have a diagnosed:
    • autoimmune condition
    • osteoarthritis affecting more than one joint
    • cancer (present or past) that required systemic treatment (e.g., chemotherapy)
  • You have severe hypertension (systolic blood pressure ≥180 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥120 mmHg), as defined by blood pressure measured at visit 1
  • currently smoke tobacco/use vaping devices, or take recreational drugs
  • have had changes to use of thyroid, blood pressure-lowering, antidepressant or statin medications within 30 days of visit 1
  • are taking medications that will interfere with the study outcomes (we will check this for you so please be prepared to share details of any medication use at the screening meeting)
  • regularly participate in resistance training (once a week or more)
  • take part in high levels of non-recreational exercise (>6h per week of high-intensity exercise or sport)
  • have a known negative reaction to lidocaine anaesthetic and/or taking warfarin or take any other blood thinning medication
  • have a Fat Mass Index (FMI) after the DEXA scan of:
    • (20-30 years old) less than 3 and greater than 10 kg/m2 (men) and less than 5 and greater than 12 kg/m2 (women). We will check this during visit 1
    • (65-75 years old) less than 3 and greater than 12 kg/m2 (men) and less than 5 and greater than 16 kg/m2 (women). We will check this during visit 1
  • do not have a stable weight in the prior 3 months (less than 5% weight change, which is ~3.5kg for a 70kg person. 1kg = 2.2lbs)
  • have an injury or condition that would prevent completion of resistance exercise
  • are unable to communicate in English

How to take part in this research study

If you want to take part, or have any questions about our research, please contact us.