Experts at the University of Nottingham are on the lookout for volunteers for a major new study looking at how physical activity levels affects our bodies as we age.
The UK population is getting older, with those aged 65 years and over set to increase to one in four of the population by 2039, but in the last 30 years the maintenance of good health has not kept pace with this increased lifespan. On average, adults in the UK typically spend the last decade of their life in poor-health.
The Covid-19 pandemic further exposed our unhealthy nation and raised government and public health awareness around the association between physical inactivity, being sedentary and poor health, which is now a major public health priority. It is vital for individual wellbeing and the UK economy that more adults reach old age in better health and maintain a good quality of life for a greater proportion of their older age. Key to achieving this is a need to understand the mechanisms by which habitual physical activity levels impact on the progression of health as we age.
In response, this new groundbreaking study led by Professor Paul Greenhaff and colleagues from the University of Nottingham, will study the effects that six months of highly controlled physical activity and inactivity have on the body, in middle-aged men and women.
Through this research we will combine world-leading MRI technology and human biology expertise to assess people's health over the course of six months of controlled physical activity interventions. Ultimately our research will enable us to make recommendations which will maximise the health of adults at risk of decline, and help them reach old age in good health."
The team of researchers are looking to recruit:
- People who are overweight (with BMI of between 25 and 29) and aged between 55-65 years
- Are not involved in exercise training and walk less than 5000 steps per day
- Spend more then 8 hours per day sitting.
Over a six-month period, this group of participants will be asked to increase their physical activity; attend three supervised cycling sessions per week; and have body function, diet and activity levels measured before, during and after the six-month period.
The team are also looking to recruit:
- People who are overweight (with BMI of between 25 and 29) and aged between 55-65 years
- Are not exercise training but walk 8,000-10,000 steps per day
- Spend fewer than six hours sitting down a day
This group will be asked to reduce physical activity to match that of the UK average adult for six months – taking less than 4,500 steps per day; having a sitting time of 7 hours or more per day; have body function, diet and activity levels measured during and after the six month period; and attend three months of supervised exercise sessions after the study finishes to restore fitness levels.
Both groups will need to attend sessions at the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham.
