Physical Activity Following Surgery Induced Weight Loss

November 2, 2014 updated by: Bret Goodpaster, University of Pittsburgh

The primary objective of this study will be to determine the effects of physical activity in patients during substantial surgery-induced weight loss.

A randomized controlled physical activity intervention trial in a group of patients undergoing bariatric surgery for weight loss. The study will involve two sites with an active bariatric surgery program, which have a strong track record of bariatric surgery research. The study will include 160-200 subjects. Changes in the primary outcome variables will be determined in previous gastric bypass patients as a result of 6 months of moderate physical activity compared to an educational control group not engaged structured exercise.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The primary objective of this study will be to determine the effects of physical activity in patients during substantial surgery-induced weight loss. We propose to employ a randomized controlled physical activity intervention trial in a group of patients undergoing bariatric surgery for weight loss. The study will involve two sites with an active bariatric surgery program, which have a strong track record of bariatric surgery research.

Recruitment goals are 160-200 gastric bypass patients who will undergo 6 months of moderate physical activity compared to an educational control group not engaged structured exercise. Subjects will be included if their BMI is less than 55 kg/m2 prior to surgery and they are located relatively close to centers for intervention sessions. At baseline (3 months following surgery) and 6 months later (9 months following surgery), subjects will have a CT scan, IV glucose tolerance test (IVGTT) and muscle biopsy (~8 hour visit). They will be scheduled for separate visits for a test of physical fitness (VO2max) and general body composition (DXA scan)(~2 hour visit), and a 15-min sub-maximal exercise session.

  1. Physical activity group: Subjects will be progressed to 4-5 days per week, 30-45 min per session (120-180 min per week) of moderate intensity exercise.
  2. Control (educational) group: Subjects will receive their usual care following surgery that includes information on physical activity. They will also be asked to participate in monthly health education sessions.

We will promote this study as one that will help determine whether physical activity may be beneficial in addition to their weight loss.

Aim 1: Insulin resistance and metabolic risk factors. Approach: To address Aim 1, we will determine 6-month changes in insulin sensitivity in subjects after 3-month initial weight loss from bariatric surgery. As outlined above, we will employ a randomized controlled physical activity intervention trial in which half of the subjects will be entered into a physical activity group, while the other half will participate in monthly health education sessions (control). By randomizing these groups three months after initial weight loss, both groups should begin the intervention with similar baseline characteristics (e.g. insulin sensitivity, body weight, physical fitness, etc.). We are not attempting to determine the effect of the weight loss per se on insulin sensitivity. However, we realize that the amount of weight loss could potentially have a major confounding influence on detecting changes in insulin sensitivity between the two groups. Thus, we will examine the degree of weight loss as a covariate in our analyses.

Aim 2: Intramyocellular lipids and body composition. Approach: We will examine pre to post intervention, changes in intramyocellular lipid determined with percutaneous biopsies, as well as abdominal and intermuscular adipose tissue determined by CT imaging.

Aim 3: Mitochondria content, function and fat oxidation. Approach: We will use three complimentary measures to quantify changes in oxidative metabolism before and after the randomized controlled trial described above. All three of these measures will make specific contributions to this specific aim. Rates of resting post-absorptive fat oxidation will be measured with indirect calorimetry. Since skeletal muscle accounts for the vast majority of energy production during physical activity, sub-maximal exercise is a good model to assess skeletal muscle fatty acid metabolism. We will employ whole body gas exchange indirect calorimetry during moderate exercise designed to elicit high rates of fatty acid oxidation. The non-invasive measures of systemic fat oxidation during both resting and exercise conditions procedures take very little time and present relatively little burden on the volunteers or technical staff, thus providing an efficient means to obtain significant information concerning the capacity for fat oxidation in vivo. Muscle biopsy samples will be obtained before and after the trial to measure changes in the oxidative capacity (electron transport chain activity, in vitro fatty acid oxidation, muscle fiber type and oxidative enzyme (succinate dehydrogenase) staining activity of muscle.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

128

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • North Carolina
      • Greenville, North Carolina, United States, 27858
        • East Carolina University
    • Pennsylvania
      • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15213
        • Montefiore Hospital, N807

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

21 years to 60 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Men and women (21-60 years of age) good health, stable weight, and without any contraindication to exercise.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Anemia (Hct<34%)
  • Elevated liver enzyme (25% above normal),
  • Proteinuria,
  • Hypothyroidism (sTSH > 8)
  • Hypertension (blood pressure > 150 mmHg systolic, or > 95 mmHg diastolic)
  • Diabetes mellitus (fasting glucose ≥ 126 mg/dl)
  • A history of myocardial infarction or peripheral vascular disease
  • Liver disease
  • Alcohol or drug abuse
  • Malignancy or neuromuscular disease
  • Subjects will be excluded if taking chronic medications known to adversely affect glucose homeostasis (oral glucocorticoids, nicotinic acid)
  • Females currently on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can participate in the study if they have been on HRT for at least 6 months and will continue to be on HRT during the study.
  • Disqualifying findings on physical examination include:

    • Lower extremity thrombophlebitis
    • Evidence of peripheral neuropathy, paresis or edema.

If the resting EKG prior to the exercise test shows any abnormalities, the test will not be conducted. If any abnormalities develop during the test, the test will be stopped. On both occasions, the participant will be referred to their PCP for further evaluation and will only be allowed to continue the study with written clearance by his/her PCP or cardiologist. American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) criteria will be used to halt maximal exercise testing should adverse cardiovascular responses develop. Only after a cardiologist interprets the resting and exercise ECG of the participant and clears them for exercise, will subjects be able to continue with the study

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Other: Exercise
Structured exercise program
1. Physical activity group: Subjects will be progressed to 4-5 days per week, 30-45 min per session (120-180 min per week) of moderate intensity exercise. 2. Control (educational) group: Subjects will receive their usual care following surgery that in addition to their weight loss.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Insulin sensitivity, intramyocellular lipid, total body fat, total lean mass
Time Frame: Twelve months
Twelve months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Intra-muscular adipose tissue, abdominal fat, mitochondria content, fat oxidation
Time Frame: Twelve months
Twelve months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Collaborators

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Bret H Goodpaster, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

December 1, 2007

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2011

Study Completion (Actual)

November 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 2, 2008

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 5, 2008

First Posted (Estimate)

June 6, 2008

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

November 4, 2014

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 2, 2014

Last Verified

November 1, 2014

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • PRO007090041
  • R01DK078192-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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