Influence of sedentary time on skeletal muscle protein metabolism
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Influence of increased sedentary time on long-term rates of skeletal muscle protein synthesis in young adults.
IRAS ID
192257
Contact name
Brandon Shad
Contact email
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Skeletal muscle plays a vital role in locomotion and metabolic health. As such, the loss of muscle mass as we age, termed sarcopenia, is a significant public health concern. Sarcopenia increases the risk of falls, resulting in greater risk of injury and reduced quality of life. More importantly, sarcopenia is associated with the development of cardio-metabolic disease, insulin resistance and ultimately a higher risk of death.
Sarcopenia is thought to be accelerated by an inactive, sedentary lifestyle. Sedentary time has consistently been associated with lower muscle mass and compromised metabolic health. However, we believe that most of the data linking increased sedentary time to loss of muscle mass and poor metabolic health has been associative and has not established a clear causal link between these factors. Furthermore, most studies that have directly assessed the influence of inactivity on muscle mass and metabolic health have used extreme experimental models (e.g. prolonged bed rest) that do not accurately represent a typical sedentary lifestyle.
Therefore, we will investigate whether a more realistic model of sedentary behaviour (reduced step count and removal of exercise) directly influences the biological processes that determine the size of muscle mass and metabolic health in young, active adults. We hypothesise that a 7 day period of increased sedentary time will result in a down-regulation of the muscle building processes (termed muscle protein synthesis) and a worsening in markers of metabolic health. The expected outcomes will help to establish a causal link between sedentary time, loss of muscle mass and metabolic health. The future impact of this research could be the formation of public health recommendations regarding sedentary time, which could help to slow the loss of muscle mass with age, potentially reducing the risk for development of cardio-metabolic disease and insulin resistance and ultimately improving quality of life.
REC name
West Midlands - Edgbaston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/WM/0011
Date of REC Opinion
24 Feb 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion