An interventional study of Exercise and No exercise in Obesity, Metabolic Syndrome and Metabolic Disease, sponsored by University of Michigan. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 40 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-06-04.
Sponsored by University of Michigan · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science
Participants will be randomized into one of two different experimental groups: 1) Exercise group and 2) No exercise (control group). Subject participation in the study will involve a series of metabolic tests before and after participants undergo a 10% weight loss program (with or without exercise training depending on group randomization). After completing this weight loss portion of the study, participants will then be required to adhere to a high calorie diet program to regain half of the weight the participant lost - followed by the same series of metabolic tests.
Exercise is among the first line treatments for obesity and obesity-related diseases, yet it is shocking how little is known about how exercise works to improve health. Expanding the knowledge about novel exercise-induced adaptations in fat tissue of obese individuals and furthering the understanding about mechanisms underlying these adaptations could lead to innovative approaches for preventing and treating insulin resistance and obesity-related diseases.
Overall, the researchers believe that exercise training modifies key processes in subcutaneous fat tissue that may contribute to an increase body fat storage capacity (without increasing fat mass). The research team anticipates that exercise will evoke an even more potent adaptive response when fat tissue is dynamically changing in response to alterations in nutritional status (i.e., weight loss and weight regain).
Participants will be randomized into one of two different experimental groups: 1) Exercise group and 2) No exercise (control group). Subject participation in the study will involve a series of metabolic tests before and after participants undergo a 10% weight loss program (with or without exercise training depending on group randomization). After completing this weight loss portion of the study, participants will then be required to adhere to a high calorie diet program to regain half of the weight the participant lost - followed by the same series of metabolic tests. After the participant completes the study, the study team will help the participant to lose more weight. Total involvement in the study for each participant will likely be about 8-10 months.
11,522 studies on the registry are indexed under Obesity; 2,033 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 46 is below the median of 67 across 9,006 interventional studies indexed under Obesity.
Browse Obesity studies →University of Michigan is the lead sponsor of 1,506 studies on the registry; 192 are open to participants now.
Of its 169 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 133 (79%) have results posted.
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Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
BMI (body mass index)
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
This exercise prescription represents a common or "conventional" form of physical activity (e.g., moderate/brisk walking). If assigned to this group, participants will perform 45 minutes of moderate intensity continuous steady-state exercise at 70% maximal heart rate (HRmax) to expend 250 calories 4 days per week.
Behavioral: Exercise
Subjects assigned to this group are to remain sedentary (no planned physical exercise) throughout the duration of the study.
Behavioral: No exercise
Participants will complete a moderate intensity continuous exercise 4 days/week.
Participants will remain sedentary throughout the duration of the study.
Also known as: Control group
Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT)
A test in which glucose is given and blood samples taken afterward to determine how quickly it is cleared from the blood will be completed at each clinical visit appointment..
Time frame: 2 hours
Adipose Tissue Fibrosis
measured histologically using Sirus Red Staining, quantified using ImageJ software at each clinical visit appointment.
Time frame: 30 minutes
Muscle Capillarization
measured immunohistochemically using an antibody for CD31, quantified using ImageJ software at each clinical visit appointment.
Time frame: 30 minutes
Adipose Capillarization
measured immunohistochemically using an antibody for CD31, quantified using ImageJ software at each clinical visit appointment.
Time frame: 30 minutes
Fat Cell Size
measured histologically using Hematoxylin and eosin (H \& E) staining, quantified using ImageJ software at each clinical visit appointment.
Time frame: 3 minutes
Blood Lipid Profile
A panel of blood tests that screens for abnormalities in blood lipids will be measured at each clinical visit appointment.
Time frame: 15 minutes
Blood Pressure
The pressure of circulating blood against the walls of blood vessels will be measured at screening and each clinical visit appointment.
Time frame: 10 minutes
Plan to share: No — There is not a plan to make IPD available.
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