Clinical trials

Physical activity (PA) refers to bodily movements that result in a significant increase in energy expenditure due to the contraction of skeletal muscles. Physical inactivity has become a major global public health concern and is currently the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity (MPA) or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity (VPA) per week. Although some studies suggest that individual differences in PA may have a genetic basis, PA is generally considered to be largely under voluntary control and influenced by climatic and environmental factors. For instance, extreme temperatures-either hot or cold-can increase health risks and reduce individuals' willingness to engage in physical activity. In addition, air pollution, particularly fine particulate matter (PM2.5), poses serious health risks. Exercising in polluted environments may trigger asthma, cardiovascular, or pulmonary conditions. Since the Industrial Revolution, fossil fuel emissions have contributed to a global surface temperature increase of approximately 1.1°C, with projections suggesting a further rise of 2.5-2.9°C by the end of the century. At the same time, PM2.5 pollution has become a pressing issue, contributing to an estimated 7 million deaths globally in 2012-over one-third of which occurred in rapidly developing Asian countries. Given the seasonal and geographic variability in climate and air quality, physical activity levels are likely to be affected accordingly.This study aims to investigate the extent to which climatic and environmental factors influence physical activity levels and intensity.

With the rapid development of the modern food industry, a large number of processed foods that heavily use refined carbohydrates and fats have emerged. These foods generally lack key components such as protein, fiber, and micronutrients, disrupting the satiety regulation system that humans developed over the course of evolution. As a result, the satiety signals provided by food are significantly mismatched with their energy content, forcing people to consume more calories to meet their basic nutritional and satiety needs. Since these processed foods are also more palatable, they further promote voluntary overeating. The 2025 World Obesity Report points out that obesity has become a global issue, and it is estimated that by 2030, over 2.9 billion adults worldwide will have a body mass index (BMI) above the normal range. The proportion of people with high BMI in China is rising and is expected to reach 5.1504 million by 2030. A new concept, Satiety Per Calorie (SPC), rates foods based on the strength of the satiety signals they generate per unit of energy. Foods with high SPC values can help people naturally reduce calorie intake while staying full; in contrast, high-calorie-dense foods like fried foods and desserts are more likely to lead to unconscious overeating. A recent animal study published in Nature Metabolism indicates that neurons in the hippocampus record the sensory experience of high-calorie foods and can trigger strong eating desires even when not hungry, leading to overconsumption. Additionally, behaviors such as eating slower and reducing external distractions during meals can enhance the perception of satiety signals and lower the risk of overeating. Evidence from a review shows that slowing down eating can reduce calorie intake. Overall, the concept of SPC helps improve modern dietary structures and provides new ideas for controlling the prevalence of obesity. However, this concept still needs further experimental validation. This study will recruit 40 male volunteers with a BMI between 18.5-28 kg/m² and aged 18-44 years, to investigate the relationship between satiety per calorie and food intake.

This project aims to develop a new and more accurate method to assess energy intake in the diet by collaborating with Astravis company in Switzerland, integrating image recognition and intelligent applications, to improve the accuracy of energy assessment in the food, and to explore the application in dietary research.The researchers will recruit 200 volunteers.

Obesity has become a global public health crisis, with 810 million adults classified as obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m²) worldwide in 2020. This number is projected to rise to 1.53 billion by 2035. China faces a particularly severe challenge, with one of the highest rates and fastest growth in obesity prevalence globally. Obesity is a well-established risk factor for numerous chronic diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. As such, weight loss is essential for improving health outcomes and preventing related complications. Lifestyle interventions-primarily dietary modifications and physical activity-are the cornerstone of obesity treatment, aiming to reduce weight by addressing energy intake and expenditure. Accumulating evidence indicates that energy imbalance is a key driver of obesity. However, resting metabolic rate (RMR), which accounts for approximately 60-75% of total energy expenditure, often declines during lifestyle interventions due to metabolic adaptation. This adaptive decrease in RMR can undermine weight loss efforts. While both body composition and core body temperature are known to influence RMR, their specific roles in metabolic adaptation during lifestyle interventions remain poorly understood. This study aims to investigate the individual contributions of changes in body composition and fluctuations in core body temperature to the observed reduction in RMR during such interventions. By combining body composition analysis and continuous core temperature monitoring, the study seeks to uncover mechanisms underlying metabolic adaptation and identify potential targets for enhancing weight loss strategies.

The goal of this clinical trial is to study the effectiveness of aerobic exercise in treating obesity in adults and to assess the efficacy of exercise. The primary research questions it seeks to address are as follows: * To what extent does exercise increase the total energy expenditure of participants? * Why and how does the energy expenditure from exercise not fully compensate for the total energy expenditure (TEE)? * Researchers will assess the efficacy and potential challenges of using exercise as a treatment for obesity by comparing the measurement data before exercise intervention (week 0), immediately after exercise intervention (week 12), and 8 weeks post-completion of exercise intervention (week 20). Participants will engage in the following activities: * Engage in running sessions supervised five times a week for a duration of 12 weeks. * Attend laboratory sessions both before and after the exercise intervention period for metabolic and anthropometric measurements, as well as sample collection. * Return to the laboratory for further metabolic and anthropometric measurements and sample collection8 weeks post-completion of exercise intervention.

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if cold water drinking could promote body composition and further extend healthy lifespan in Chinese older adults. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Does cold water drinking lower the body fat percentage? 2. Will cold water drinking positively extend lifespan in a long-term Researchers will compare cold water intervention group to a control group (drinking 37℃ water instead) to see if cold water drinking works to promote health and slow down ageing process. Participants will: 1. Drink 4℃ or 37℃ water 4 times (9a.m., 12p.m., 15p.m., 18p.m.) every day for 6 months. 2. Visit the institute and health checkup department for tests and checkup at baseline, the end of the 3rd month, and the end of 6th month.

Between 1990 and 2022, the global prevalence of obesity more than doubled, representing a critical public health concern. China has mirrored this trend, with rapidly increasing rates of overweight and obesity across all age groups. According to the 'Report on Chinese Residents' Nutrition and Chronic Diseases (2020)', 50.7% of Chinese adults are now classified as overweight or obese. Among children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years, data from the 'Atlas of Nutrition and Health Status of Chinese Children' indicates that the prevalence of overweight and obesity has reached 26.5%. Obesity is associated with a broad spectrum of adverse health outcomes across the life course. In children, excess adiposity negatively affects skeletal maturation, neurocognitive development, and psychosocial well-being, while also increasing the likelihood of obesity and metabolic dysfunction in adulthood. In adults, obesity is a major risk factor for a range of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, osteoarthritis, certain cancers, and all-cause premature mortality. Beyond its health implications, obesity imposes substantial economic and social burdens, including increased healthcare expenditure and reduced workforce productivity. The etiology of the obesity epidemic is multifactorial and remains under active investigation. Hypotheses center around a chronic imbalance between energy intake and expenditure, driven by behavioral, environmental, and physiological factors. Notably, decreased physical activity associated with sedentary lifestyles and increased consumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods have been implicated as key contributors. However, the relative contributions of reduced energy expenditure versus increased energy intake remain insufficiently quantified at the population level. Accurate assessment of total energy expenditure (TEE) is therefore essential to elucidate the energy dynamics underlying the obesity epidemic. Current approaches for estimating population-level energy and food requirements are often based on indirect methods with limited precision. The doubly labelled water (DLW) technique, which quantifies TEE through measurement of isotope elimination rates (\^2H and \^18O), remains the gold standard for assessing free-living energy expenditure. However, its application has been predominantly confined to high-income countries with well-established research infrastructure. In contrast, the use of DLW in low- and middle-income countries-including China-remains minimal, resulting in critical data gaps that hinder the development of context-specific dietary recommendations and energy requirement models. To address these limitations, this study will apply the DLW method to measure TEE in healthy children and adults in China. In parallel, the study will assess key modulators of energy metabolism, including anthropometric and physiological parameters, gut microbiota composition, habitual physical activity, and ambient temperature exposure. The resulting dataset will provide high-resolution, population-specific evidence to inform national dietary reference intakes and support the formulation of evidence-based public health strategies aimed at obesity prevention and metabolic health promotion.

The objective of this observational study is to integrate the doubly labeled water (DLW) database from healthy individuals with multimodal data-including, but not limited to, weight, height, age, sex, race, elevation-from cohorts undergoing rehabilitation following movement impairments or neurological injuries. Machine learning algorithms will be used to develop injury-specific predictive models of energy requirements. The primary research question is: How does energy metabolism change during the rehabilitation process in individuals recovering from traumatic brain injury, stroke, or major surgical procedures? To answer this, participants will undergo a comprehensive set of assessments, including measurements of height and weight, body composition, resting metabolic rate, physical activity levels, total energy expenditure, psychological health, food intake and hunger ratings, sleep quality, cognitive performance, non-invasive brain function monitoring, and gait analysis. Fecal and blood samples will also be collected for untargeted metabolomics analysis.

The goal of this observational study is to learn about the effects of physical activity in adult on metabolic response. The main question it aims to answer is: * if physical activity is unlimited to increase the total energy expenditure (TEE)? Participants will engage in the following measurements: * Record their daily physical activity by GT3X. * Measure TEE by doubly-labeled water (DLW) method * Measure basal energy expenditure(BEE) and thermic effect of food(TEF) by respiratory chamber

Excess energy, obesity and obesity-related diseases are important global health issues. Although it is known that obesity is an issue of energy balance, the components of energy expenditure seem to be inter-related in complex non-additive ways. The aim of this study is to explore the downstream impacts of exercise on short term changes in both expenditure and energy intake. The primary question the investigators are asking is whether moderate to high intensity exercise influences the basal energy expenditure and/or energy intake/macronutrient preference in young adult males? (A similar study will be performed on females in a different registration). The investigators will use a specially designed feeding table to measure energy intake and macronutrient intake, which is easy to quantify intake compensation. Basal metabolism will be measured by hood indirect calorimetry. The investigators will explore the factors that influence the level of compensation in expenditure and intake, in particular body composition. Participants will be asked to come to the lab after 10 hours fast for body composition tests including Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry(DXA), Magnetic Resonance Image(MRI) and Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis(BIA). They will then be asked (not) to do 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise after an energy-limiting breakfast, during which metabolic rate levels and changes in dietary composition will be recorded by gas exchange and standardized buffet. In addition, participants' subjective hunger and preferences will also be recorded by questionnaires. Venous blood will be collected to measure metabolic and hormone factors, blood glucose will be measured by Continuous Blood Glucose Monitor (CGM).

By 2050, there will be 9 billion people on earth. It will be necessary to feed them to avoid the population catastrophe predicted by Malthus 150 years ago. Yet a major issue facing governments is that the current method by which food demands are estimated is widely acknowledged as completely inaccurate. An accurate method is available. It is based on measurements of isotope elimination, called the doubly labelled water (DLW) method. In 2018, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) hosted and compiled a database of measurements using this technique. It showed that the use of the DLW method has been mostly restricted to the USA and Western Europe. It has rarely been applied across Africa and Asia. The database also focused on adults, leaving much unknown about the energy balance in children and adolescents. There is a clear need to fill this gap in knowledge, providing information that governments across Low- and Middle-Income countries can use to forecast future food demands. In China, the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents is increasing. In 2009, 22.1% of Chinese youth aged 7-17 years were either overweight or obese, according to the China Health and Nutrition Survey. The obesity rate has increased fourfold since 1995. One of the most concerning problems is the persistence of childhood obesity into adulthood. The causes of this obesity epidemic are strongly disputed, with some suggesting it is due to increasingly sedentary lifestyles (computers, cars, phones, etc.), while others suggest it is mostly due to changing food patterns (junk food and sugar-sweetened beverages). Measuring energy expenditure in children and adolescents in China will address whether declining expenditure due to reduced physical activity is a key cause of the epidemic. Most measurements come from urban populations, leaving rural populations greatly underrepresented.

Water is essential for sustaining life and maintaining health. The human body relies on water to transport nutrients and waste products, lubricate joints, regulate body temperature, and preserve tissue structure. International research has shown that losing just 2% of body weight through water loss can impair physiological functions and reduce response capacity. Adequate water intake plays a crucial protective role in health: it helps regulate body weight, lowers the risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular conditions, and supports cognitive function. However, the common recommendation to drink eight cups of water per day lacks strong scientific evidence. Most national hydration guidelines are based on average population intake, and personalized water intake recommendations have yet to be fully developed. In this study, the investigators will use the deuterium dilution technique to measure water turnover in volunteers. Body composition will be assessed using the TANITA MC-780, while a seven-day fluid intake diary will track daily water consumption. Physical activity levels will be monitored using GT3 devices, and environmental data-including altitude, temperature, and humidity-will be collected based on participants' locations. The goal of this study is to collect comprehensive data on the physiological traits, environmental influences, and hydration needs of the Chinese population. This will allow for refinement and optimization of current prediction equations for water requirements. Ultimately, the investigators aim to develop a new, individualized water intake algorithm tailored to the Chinese population by quantifying the proportion of water intake relative to total water requirements.

Obesity is a risk factor for chronic diseases, and improving energy expenditure is a way to prevent and treat obesity. The purpose of this project is to explore the relationship between the effect of coffee on energy expenditure and caffeine metabolism, which has important significance in the rational application of caffeine.

The purpose of this project is to explore the relationship between the effect of coffee on exercise performance and caffeine metabolism.

The purpose of this study is to explore variation in the impact of coffee on metabolic rate. The investigators plan to recruit healthy participants, half male and half female.