Impact of Weight Loss on Fat Tissue in Muscles
This study wants to learn how losing weight affects cell communication in muscle fat tissue among people with obesity. We also want to see how this impacts insulin resistance, inflammation, and muscle strength.
Why this Research Matters
We will look at the fat and muscle tissue of people who lost weight and people who did not lose weight and compare differences in their insulin, inflammation, and strength.
If you join this study, you will have a screening visit to see if you qualify. At this visit, we will check your body composition, take your blood, and test muscle strength. If you qualify to join, we will schedule a visit where the study doctor will perform a thigh muscle biopsy and an insulin clamp. A biopsy takes a small piece of your muscle and fat tissue for testing. The insulin clamp measures how your body controls your blood sugar. This means putting an IV in each arm to give you fluids. You will then follow a 12-week low-calorie diet to lose weight with guidance from the study team, or you will not make any changes to your diet. The study team will decide what group you will be in. After 12 weeks, we will repeat the same tests and biopsies done at the start of the study. If you were in the group who did not eat the low-calorie diet, you will be able to join a similar weight loss program at no cost to you.
You may be able to join this study if you:
- are a generally healthy adult
- are between 18 and 70 years old
- have a BMI of 30 to 40
- exercise less that 1 hour per week
You cannot join this study if you:
- have type 1 or type 2 diabetes
- have thyroid issues
- have a history of lung disease
- use nicotine
- have severe plasma lipid disorders
- take hormone replacement drugs, blood thinners, or thiazoladinediones
If you are a woman, you cannot join if you are going through menopause or peri-menopause, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have ever been diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome.
