Training Effects on Fuel Metabolism (TrainMeUpMN)

The investigators are interested in how skeletal muscle processes fat and how this may affect insulin resistance. This is an important question since insulin resistance predates and predicts type 2 diabetes. The investigators are especially interested in learning about the effects of weight and training on insulin resistance. The investigators will study people before and after supervised aerobic or yoga training to identify differences in resting fat and sugar metabolism which may lead to differences in insulin resistance. The investigators will test these differences using stable isotopes, and the use of these stable isotopes is experimental.

Overweight/Obese Group: Eight visits will be required at the University of Minnesota Clinical Research Unit. Four visits will be done before training (screen and 3 pre-training visits), 1 visit during the training, and 3 post-training visits will be done. In between, the training will take about 16 weeks and will be a supervised treadmill program.

Lean/Trained Group: Four visits will be required at the University of Minnesota Clinical Research Unit (screen and 3 study visits).

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Healthy Subjects; Overweight and Obesity; Lean Trained Subjects
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Running Program; Behavioral: Yoga Program

Detailed Description

Insulin resistance plays a critical role in the development of type 2 diabetes (T2DM), with skeletal muscle the largest site of insulin resistance in the human body. In sedentary humans, insulin resistance correlates with levels of intramyocellular lipid (IMCL) and lipid metabolites that adversely affect skeletal muscle glucose metabolism. However, even modest endurance training has been shown to reduce insulin resistance while increasing skeletal muscle IMCL. Moreover, lean endurance trained participants have IMCL levels comparable to those of patients with T2DM, yet have significantly lower insulin resistance. These findings suggest that the physiological changes caused by training protect against lipid induced insulin resistance and that this protection is present even at rest, however our preliminary data suggest that training facilitates utilization of readily available fuel, with lipid preferentially used over glucose when available. We will test the overarching hypothesis that training increases resting skeletal muscle lipid metabolism, as measured by markers of IMCL lipolysis, accumulation of fatty acid metabolites and mitochondrial utilization of fatty acids.

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health Award Number UL1-TR002494. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 64
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Minnesota
    • Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 55455
      • University of Minnesota

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 40 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

All subjects

1. Subjects 18 to 40 years of age.
2. Subjects are capable of giving informed consent

Overweight or obese

1. Insulin resistant based on screening oral glucose tolerance testing.
2. BMI 25 to 40 kg/m2 inclusive
3. Stable weight for at least 3 months (± 5 lbs.)
4. Sedentary status (self-report < 30 minutes/week regular exercise).

Lean, physically active

1. physically active subjects defined as 3-5 aerobic exercise sessions/week
2. matched to age and gender
3. generally healthy with normal fasting glucose levels (glucose ≤100 mg/dL).

Exclusion Criteria:

All subjects

1. Subjects 18 to 40 years of age.
2. Subjects are capable of giving informed consent

Overweight or obese

1. Insulin resistant based on screening oral glucose tolerance testing.
2. BMI 25 to 40 kg/m2 inclusive
3. Stable weight for at least 3 months (± 5 lbs.)
4. Sedentary status (self-report < 30 minutes/week regular exercise).

Lean, physically active

1. physically active subjects defined as 3-5 aerobic exercise sessions/week
2. matched to age and gender
3. generally healthy with normal fasting glucose levels (glucose ≤100 mg/dL).

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Lean Trained; Metabolic control
Experimental: Obese or Overweight; Running Program Yoga Program	Behavioral: Running Program; 16 week supervised running program; Behavioral: Yoga Program; once weekly supervised yoga

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Differences in insulin sensitivity between groups	Will use HOMA-IR and hyperinsulinemia-euglycemic clamp	Before and after exercise program (exercise program will take 16 weeks, expected average for evaluation will be 20 weeks)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Differences in fitness level between groups	we will measure fitness level by treadmill based VO2 max testing.	before and after exercise program (exercise program will take 16 weeks, expected average for evaluation will be 20 weeks)

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Differences in body composition between groups	we will measure body composition by iDEXA to look at changes and total fat, visceral fat, and subcutaneously pre-and post exercise. This will be a noninvasive x-ray based measurement (x-ray exposure is extremely low and is equivalent to 1 day of natural radiation in Minnesota)	before and after exercise program ((exercise program will take 16 weeks, expected average for evaluation will be 20 weeks)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Minnesota
• Collaborators: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK); National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Lisa S. Chow, MD, University of Minnesota

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Nelson AB, Chow LS, Stagg DB, Gillingham JR, Evans MD, Pan M, Hughey CC, Myers CL, Han X, Crawford PA, Puchalska P. Acute aerobic exercise reveals that FAHFAs distinguish the metabolomes of overweight and normal-weight runners. JCI Insight. 2022 Apr 8;7(7):e158037. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.158037.
• Bantle AE, Bosch TA, Dengel DR, Wang Q, Mashek DG, Chow LS. DXA-Determined Regional Adiposity Relates to Insulin Resistance in a Young Adult Population with Overweight andObesity. J Clin Densitom. 2019 Apr-Jun;22(2):287-292. doi: 10.1016/j.jocd.2018.06.001. Epub 2018 Jun 7.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 30, 2018
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 22, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 27, 2014
• First Posted (Estimated): May 30, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): January 8, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 6, 2026
• Last Verified: January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: diabetes; lipid metabolism; insulin resistance
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Endocrine System Diseases; Nutrition Disorders; Metabolic Diseases; Overnutrition; Body Weight; Glucose Metabolism Disorders; Hyperinsulinism; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Signs and Symptoms; Overweight; Obesity; Diabetes Mellitus; Insulin Resistance
• Other Study ID Numbers: 1209M20741; 5R01DK098203-02 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)