title: Activating brown adipose tissue through exercise (ACTIBATE) in young adults: Rationale, design and methodology.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The energy expenditure capacity of brown adipose tissue (BAT) makes it an attractive target as a therapy against obesity and type 2 diabetes. BAT activators namely catecholamines, natriuretic peptides and certain myokines, are secreted in response to exercise. ACTIBATE will determine the effect of exercise on BAT activity and mass measured by positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT, primary outcome) in young adults. ACTIBATE will also investigate the physiological consequences of activating BAT (secondary outcomes).
  
  
  METHODS
  ACTIBATE will recruit 150 sedentary, healthy, young adults (50% women) aged 18-25 years. Eligible participants will be randomly assigned to a non-exercise group (n ≈ 50) or one of two exercise groups (n=50 each). Participants in the exercise groups will perform aerobic and strength training 3-4 days/week at a heart rate equivalent to 60% of heart rate reserve (HRres), and at 50% of 1 repetition maximum (RM) for the moderate-intensity group, and at 80% of HRres and 70% RM for the vigorous-intensity group. Laboratory measures completed at baseline and 6 months include BAT activity and mass, resting energy expenditure, meal and cold-induced thermogenesis, body temperature regulation and shivering threshold, body composition and cardiovascular disease risk factors. We will also obtain biopsies from abdominal subcutaneous white adipose tissue and skeletal muscle to analyse the expression of genes encoding proteins involved in the thermogenic machinery.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings from ACTIBATE will have significant implications for our understanding of exercise and its protective effects against the development of type 2 diabetes, obesity and related metabolic diseases. ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02365129.
authors.affiliation: PROFITH "PROmoting FITness and Health through physical activity" Research Group, Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain. Electronic address: gsanchezdelgado@ugr.es.
authors.forename: Guillermo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sanchez-Delgado
authors.affiliation: PROFITH "PROmoting FITness and Health through physical activity" Research Group, Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain. Electronic address: borjammt@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Borja
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Martinez-Tellez
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology, Centre for Biomedical Research, University of Granada, Granada, Spain, CIBEROBN. Electronic address: jolza@ugr.es.
authors.forename: Josune
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authors.lastname: Olza
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology, Centre for Biomedical Research, University of Granada, Granada, Spain, CIBEROBN. Electronic address: caguiler@ugr.es.
authors.forename: Concepcion M
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authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of the Basque Country, Vitoria, Spain. Electronic address: idoia.labayen@ehu.eus.
authors.forename: Idoia
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authors.lastname: Labayen
authors.affiliation: PROFITH "PROmoting FITness and Health through physical activity" Research Group, Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain. Electronic address: ortegaf@ugr.es.
authors.forename: Francisco B
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Ortega
authors.affiliation: PROFITH "PROmoting FITness and Health through physical activity" Research Group, Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain. Electronic address: pchillon@ugr.es.
authors.forename: Palma
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authors.affiliation: PROFITH "PROmoting FITness and Health through physical activity" Research Group, Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain. Electronic address: carlosreguera89@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Carlos
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authors.affiliation: PROFITH "PROmoting FITness and Health through physical activity" Research Group, Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain. Electronic address: juanma.alcantara@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Juan M A
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authors.affiliation: PROFITH "PROmoting FITness and Health through physical activity" Research Group, Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain. Electronic address: wdma@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Wendy D
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authors.lastname: Martinez-Avila
authors.affiliation: PROFITH "PROmoting FITness and Health through physical activity" Research Group, Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain. Electronic address: mariavmuher@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Victoria
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authors.affiliation: PROFITH "PROmoting FITness and Health through physical activity" Research Group, Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain. Electronic address: fran_acosta_@hotmail.es.
authors.forename: Francisco M
authors.initials: FM
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authors.affiliation: PROFITH "PROmoting FITness and Health through physical activity" Research Group, Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain. Electronic address: juanlo_7_@hotmail.com.
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authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada, Granada, Spain. Electronic address: franamga13@gmail.com.
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authors.lastname: Amaro-Gahete
authors.affiliation: PROFITH "PROmoting FITness and Health through physical activity" Research Group, Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain. Electronic address: lhidgar@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hidalgo-Garcia
authors.affiliation: PROFITH "PROmoting FITness and Health through physical activity" Research Group, Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain. Electronic address: lorenardrgz89@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Lorena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.affiliation: PROFITH "PROmoting FITness and Health through physical activity" Research Group, Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain; Servicio de Vigilancia de la Salud, Ayuntamiento Granada, Granada, Spain. Electronic address: yasmeen@granada.org.
authors.forename: Yasmeen Abdel-Karim
authors.initials: YA
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authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Nuclear, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves, Granada, Spain. Electronic address: angel.ramirez.sspa@juntadeandalucia.es.
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authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Nuclear, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves, Granada, Spain. Electronic address: mangustias.muros.sspa@juntadeandalucia.es.
authors.forename: Maria A
authors.initials: MA
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authors.forename: Esther
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authors.forename: Maria R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Ruiz
authors.affiliation: PROFITH "PROmoting FITness and Health through physical activity" Research Group, Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain. Electronic address: amaliaacn@yahoo.es.
authors.forename: Amalia
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authors.lastname: Cano-Nieto
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authors.forename: Jose M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Llamas-Elvira
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authors.forename: Jose A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Jimenez Rios
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology, Centre for Biomedical Research, University of Granada, Granada, Spain, CIBEROBN. Electronic address: agil@ugr.es.
authors.forename: Angel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gil
authors.affiliation: PROFITH "PROmoting FITness and Health through physical activity" Research Group, Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain. Electronic address: ruizj@ugr.es.
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mesh_terms: D002001:Adipose Tissue, Brown / Q000378:metabolism*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D064847:Multimodal Imaging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Body temperature regulation; Brown adipose tissue; Energy metabolism; Obesity; Thermogenesis; Type 2 diabetes