The Influence of Acute Continuous Exercise and Adiposity on Appetite Hormones and Neural Correlates of Visual Food Cues

Launched by LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY · Feb 24, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying how a single session of continuous walking or jogging affects appetite-related hormones and brain responses to food cues in people who are overweight or have obesity. The researchers want to see if exercise changes the levels of hormones that either increase or decrease appetite and how these changes relate to what people feel about their hunger and what they eat afterward.

To be eligible for the study, participants should be between 18 and 70 years old with a specific body mass index (BMI) and waist size, depending on their ethnic background. They need to be generally healthy, able to walk for an hour on a treadmill, and stable in their weight for the past three months. Participants will undergo a 45-minute MRI scan and will be asked to maintain their usual eating patterns during the study. It’s important to note that smokers, those with certain medical conditions, or anyone taking specific medications will not be able to participate. This trial is a great opportunity for individuals interested in understanding how exercise affects appetite and eating behaviors.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Body mass index (BMI) between 18.5 - 24.9 kg/m2 and a waist circumference of ≤ 88 cm for women, and ≤ 102 cm for men or a BMI between 25 - 40 kg/m2 and a waist circumference of \> 88 cm for women, and \> 102 cm for men. BMI and waist circumference thresholds vary amongst ethnicities. People with a South Asian, Chinese, other Asian, Middle Eastern, Black African or African-Caribbean family background are prone to central adiposity and their cardiometabolic risk occurs at a lower BMI. Therefore, the following BMI and waist circumference thresholds will be applied for people of South Asian, other Asian, Black African and African-Caribbean ethnicity: (1) BMI 18.5 kg/m2 to 23 kg/m2 and waist circumference of \< 90 cm for men and \< 80 cm for women; (2) BMI 23.1 kg/m2 to 40 kg/m2 and waist circumference of ≥ 90 cm for men and ≥ 80 cm for women.
• • Normally consumes three meals a day
• • Able to walk continuously for 1 hour on a treadmill
• • Weight stable for 3 months (\< 3kg change in weight)
• • Regular menstrual cycle for the last 6 months (people taking the combined contraceptive pill are eligible for the study)
• • Able to undergo a 45-minute MRI scan
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Smokers (vaping is considered smoking in this study)
• • Known medical conditions (e.g. diabetes, heart condition)
• • Taking any medication which may affect the study outcomes (e.g. liraglutide, semaglutide, insulin, steroids, anti-psychotics)
• • Clinically diagnosed eating disorder
• • Previous bariatric surgery (e.g. gastric bypass, gastric band, sleeve gastrectomy)
• • Food allergies or intolerances, or severe dislikes to study foods
• • Pregnant or breastfeeding
• • Have recently donated blood (within eight weeks of visits 2 and 3).