An interventional study of Heavy-load strength training and Protein supplementation in Aging, sponsored by Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. Completed at 1 site in Norway. Open to participants aged 75 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2019-03-14.
Sponsored by Norwegian School of Sport Sciences · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science
The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of a lower-body strength training regime combined with protein supplementation in pre-frail elderly individuals. Participants are randomized to a group performing three weekly sessions of heavy-load strength training for 10 weeks and receiving daily protein supplementation, or a non-training, non-supplemented control group. The endpoints are changes in body composition, the relative changes in different compartments of the quadriceps femoris muscles, and the relationships between changes in muscle mass, muscle thickness, strength, and functional capacity. The investigators hypothesize that 10 weeks of heavy load strength training and protein supplementation will elicit improvements in muscle mass, strength, and functional performance. Moreover, it is hypothesized that improvements in strength will correlate with the improvements in functional performance.
Aging is accompanied by a loss of muscle mass and strength. Because muscle strength is associated with functional performance in elderly individuals, various tasks of daily living is hampered by the overall decline. The consequence is a vicious circle, where inactivity caused by reduced functional capacity accelerates the loss of muscle mass, strength and physical function. The Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) is commonly used to assess functional capacity, where individuals with a score of 10 or less out of maximum 12 may be categorized as pre-frail. Because small-to-moderate limitations in functional status assessed by SPPB is associated with higher odds of losing future mobility, these individuals represent a group of great interest. Strategies to improve functional capacity in this population are therefore important. It is established that heavy-load strength training, alone or in combination with protein supplementation, can improve muscle mass, strength, and function in elderly individuals. However, most studies have focused on healthy older adults, and less is known about the effects of heavy-load strength training in pre-frail elderly individuals. Moreover, the extent to which training-induced gains in muscle mass and size are related to improvements in strength and functional capacity is still poorly understood, because few intervention studies in this population have quantified hypertrophy precisely. Hence, the aim of this study is to investigate the effects of 10 weeks of heavy load strength training, performed three times per week, on muscle mass (DXA scan), muscle thickness (ultrasound), muscle strength (dynamic and isometric), rate of force development, chair rise ability, and gait velocity. Participants are randomized to a group performing three weekly sessions of heavy-load strength training or a control group. In addition, to optimize gains in muscle mass and strength, the strength training group will receive daily protein supplementation throughout the intervention period. The investigators hypothesize that the intervention will improve muscle mass, muscle thickness and strength, and that improvements in muscle strength and rate of force development will be correlated with improvements in functional capacity.
Norwegian School of Sport Sciences is the lead sponsor of 45 studies on the registry; 6 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Exclusion Criteria:
Heavy-load strength training, Protein supplementation
Other: Heavy-load strength training · Dietary Supplement: Protein supplementation
No intervention
Three weekly sessions of heavy-load strength training for 10 weeks
Also known as: Resistance exercise
Daily supplementation of 2 x 17 grams of milk protein
Muscle strength of m. Quadriceps Femoris
Maximal isometric muscle strength of m. quadriceps femoris (maximal voluntary contraction for the knee extensors)
Time frame: Change from baseline at 10 weks
Muscle strength of m. quadriceps femoris
Maximal dynamic muscle strength of m. quadriceps femoris (knee extension 1 repetition maximum)
Time frame: Change from baseline at 10 weeks
Leg lean mass
Measured by Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA-scan)
Time frame: Change from baseline at 10 weeks
Total lean mass
Measured by Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA-scan)
Time frame: Change from baseline at 10 weeks
Fat mass
Measured by Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA-scan)
Time frame: Change from baseline at 10 weeks
Bone mineral density
Measured by Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA-scan)
Time frame: Change from baseline at 10 weeks
m. Vastus Lateralis thickness
Measured by ultrasound
Time frame: Change from baseline at 10 weeks
m. Rectus Femoris thickness
Measured by ultrasound
Time frame: Change from baseline at 10 weeks
m. Vastus Intermedius thickness
Measured by ultrasound
Time frame: Change from baseline at 10 weeks
m. Vastus Medialis thickness
Measured by ultrasound
Time frame: Change from baseline at 10 weeks
Isometric knee extension rate of force development (RFD max)
Measured during maximal voluntary contraction
Time frame: Change from baseline at 10 weeks
Isometric knee extension force at 100 ms
Force at 100 ms during maximal voluntary contraction
Time frame: Change from baseline at 10 weeks
Habitual gait velocity
Time (sec) to walk 6 meters at preferred gait speed
Time frame: Change from baseline at 10 weeks
Five times chair-rise performance
Time (sec) to rise from a chair five times
Time frame: Change from baseline at 10 weeks
Stair climbing
Time (sec) to climb a staircase
Time frame: Change from baseline at 10 weeks
Diet assessment
24-hour diet recall interviews
Time frame: Change from baseline at 10 weeks
Plan to share: No
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This study is completed, as verified in Mar 2019. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Norwegian School of Sport Sciences