Overweight adults needed to help university’s research

OVERWEIGHT adults needed for study exploring link between gut health and metabolic disease risk at Loughborough University

Researchers within the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences are looking for local volunteers to take part in a study that will help us understand the link between gut health and metabolic disease.

In the UK, 25 per cent of adults are affected by the metabolic syndrome (NHS, 2016), which is a cluster of different conditions including elevated blood sugar, insulin resistance and high blood pressure.

Individuals with the metabolic syndrome are also at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Recently, scientific research has focused on the gut and its potential to impact our overall health. In the gut, there are trillions of bacteria, also known as the gut microbiota, which are modifiable by lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise.

Animal studies suggest a link between the gut microbiota and the risk of developing metabolic diseases such as insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. The link between gut health and metabolic disease has not yet been confirmed in humans.

In experiments at Loughborough University, we will investigate the link between gut function and overall metabolic health.

Therefore, we are seeking overweight and obese males and females aged 18 to 70 years.

Volunteers should be non-smokers, not have had antibiotics for three months prior to taking part in the study and should be free from any heart, metabolic or inflammatory disease.

Volunteers will be asked to come to the laboratory on three occasions.

During the first visit, you will be asked to complete a general health questionnaire and we will take some simple measurements of height and weight.

On the second three-hour visit, you will be asked to come to the laboratory in the morning (around 8am) after an overnight fast. During this visit we will assess your body’s ability to handle sugar by taking blood samples before and after drinking a sugar-containing drink.

On the third five-hour visit, you will again be asked to come to the laboratory in the morning after an overnight fast. This time we will assess gut permeability (you may have come across the term ‘leaky gut’ before) by collecting urine output after ingesting a small amount of two sugars (lactulose and mannitol).

From the samples taken, we will assess whether there is a link between your gut health and insulin sensitivity and whether these variables are influenced by lifestyle (e.g. diet and physical activity).

To volunteer or learn more about the study please contact:

Malvina Begalli m.begalli@lboro. ac.uk

Dr Carl Hulston (supervisor) c.j.hulston@lboro.ac.uk