Diet, Metabolic Health, and Exercise Responses
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Standardized Moderate-Intensity Cycling Session.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Diet Quality, Metabolic Health, Cognitive Function, Exercise Response. Basic parameters: 18 years — 60 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- United States
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
Unsure about the terms? Read our patient guide →
Official title
Dietary Fat Quality, Metabolic Health, Cognitive Function, and Responses to Standardized Moderate-Intensity Exercise in Young Adults
Overview
Regular physical activity, healthy dietary habits, and good metabolic health are associated with numerous physical and cognitive health benefits. However, individuals vary substantially in their affective, motivational, and cognitive responses to exercise, and the factors contributing to this variability are not fully understood. This prospective observational study will examine whether habitual dietary fat quality and metabolic health are associated with exercise responses, cognitive function, and academic-related outcomes in healthy young adults. Participants will complete assessments of dietary intake, body composition, metabolic health, aerobic fitness, cognitive function, and academic engagement. They will also complete a standardized moderate-intensity cycling session during which affective responses, exercise enjoyment, subjective energy, and motivation for future physical activity will be assessed. The findings will improve understanding of how habitual dietary habits and metabolic health may influence responses to exercise and cognitive functioning and may help inform future lifestyle recommendations aimed at promoting physical activity participation, cognitive performance, and overall health.
Detailed description
Regular physical activity and healthy dietary patterns contribute to the prevention of chronic disease and support cognitive and psychological well-being. Nevertheless, individuals differ considerably in their responses to exercise, including perceived enjoyment, affective responses, motivation to continue exercising, and cognitive performance. These individual differences may influence long-term physical activity participation and adherence, yet the biological and lifestyle factors underlying this variability remain incompletely understood.
Habitual dietary fat quality and metabolic health have been independently associated with cardiometabolic function, cognition, and psychological well-being. Greater saturated fat intake and poorer metabolic health have been linked to impaired cognitive performance, increased inflammation, and reduced insulin sensitivity, whereas diets higher in unsaturated fats have been associated with more favorable metabolic and cognitive outcomes. Whether these factors also influence acute psychological and cognitive responses to exercise has received comparatively little attention.
The purpose of this prospective observational study is to examine associations among habitual dietary fat quality, metabolic health, cognitive function, and responses to a standardized bout of moderate-intensity exercise in healthy young adults. Habitual dietary intake will be assessed using multiple-day dietary records, and metabolic health will be characterized using anthropometric measurements, fasting glucose, blood lipids, oral glucose tolerance testing, body composition, aerobic fitness, and salivary cortisol. Cognitive function, mental fatigue, concentration, cognitive failures, and academic engagement will also be assessed.
Participants will complete a standardized moderate-intensity cycling session during which affective responses, perceived exertion, subjective energy, exercise enjoyment, and motivation for future physical activity will be measured before, during, and after exercise. The exercise session serves as a standardized assessment designed to evaluate individual variability in physiological and psychological responses rather than as an intervention intended to improve health outcomes.
The primary objective is to determine whether habitual dietary fat quality and metabolic health are associated with affective responses to exercise. Secondary objectives include examining associations with exercise enjoyment, motivation for future physical activity, cognitive performance, mental fatigue, concentration, academic engagement, and selected physiological measures. Findings from this study may improve understanding of modifiable lifestyle factors associated with exercise adherence, cognitive functioning, and overall health in young adults and inform future behavioral and lifestyle interventions.
Interventions
- Behavioral Standardized Moderate-Intensity Cycling Session
Participants will complete a standardized 30-minute moderate-intensity cycling session on an electronically braked cycle ergometer. Exercise intensity will be prescribed at approximately 50-60% heart rate reserve (Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion 11-13). Heart rate, perceived exertion, affective responses, exercise enjoyment, subjective energy, and motivation will be assessed before, during, immediately after, and following exercise. The cycling session is conducted as a standardized assessment
Primary outcome measures
- Affective Valence During and After Exercise [Time frame: Immediately before exercise; at minutes 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 during the 30-minute cycling session; immediately after exercise; and 30 minutes after exercise]
- Perceived Arousal During and After Exercise [Time frame: Immediately before exercise; at minutes 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 during the 30-minute cycling session; immediately after exercise; and 30 minutes after exercise]
- Positive Affect Before and After Exercise [Time frame: Immediately before exercise, immediately after the 30-minute cycling session, and 30 minutes after exercise]
- Negative Affect Before and After Exercise [Time frame: Immediately before exercise, immediately after the 30-minute cycling session, and 30 minutes after exercise]
Secondary outcome measures (6)
- Exercise Enjoyment [Time frame: Immediately after the 30-minute cycling session and 30 minutes after the cycling session]
- Desire to Move [Time frame: Immediately before the 30-minute cycling session, immediately after the cycling session, and 30 minutes after the cycling session]
- Desire to Rest [Time frame: Immediately before the 30-minute cycling session, immediately after the cycling session, and 30 minutes after the cycling session]
- Everyday Cognitive Failures [Time frame: At baseline, before the exercise-testing procedures]
- Estimated Maximal Oxygen Consumption [Time frame: At baseline, during the submaximal graded cycle-ergometer test]
- Body Composition [Time frame: At baseline, before the exercise-testing procedures]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Age 18 years or older.
- Able to provide written informed consent.
- Able and willing to complete two laboratory visits, dietary recording, cognitive assessments, and exercise testing.
- Able to safely complete submaximal exercise testing and a 30-minute moderate-intensity cycling session, as determined by health-history screening and the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire Plus (PAR-Q+).
- Willing to complete dietary records and follow pre-visit instructions.
Exclusion criteria
- Known cardiovascular, pulmonary, metabolic, neurological, psychiatric, or other medical condition that could make exercise testing or moderate-intensity exercise unsafe or substantially affect study outcomes.
- Current pregnancy.
- Current smoking.
- Medication use that could substantially affect metabolic, cardiovascular, cognitive, or exercise-response outcomes, as determined by the investigators.
Orthopedic injury, mobility limitation, or other physical condition that prevents safe cycling or exercise testing.
- Resting heart rate greater than 100 beats per minute.
- Resting blood pressure greater than 160/100 mmHg.
- Electrocardiogram abnormality requiring further medical evaluation.
- Positive PAR-Q+ response or other health-screening finding indicating that medical clearance is required and has not been obtained.
- Inability or unwillingness to complete study procedures, fasting requirements, dietary records, or pre-visit restrictions.
- Any other condition that, in the judgment of the research team, would make participation unsafe or interfere with valid completion of the study procedures.
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: No
Study design
- Observational model
- Cohort
Study locations
United States · 1 center
- University of Wisconsin-River Falls — River Falls
Publications
- Hartman ME, Hernandez J. The Assessment of Affective Responses within Exercise Prescription: A Narrative Review. Int J Sports Med. 2023 Jul;44(8):558-567. doi: 10.1055/a-2029-8337. Epub 2023 Feb 7. PMID 36750220
- Ekkekakis P, Parfitt G, Petruzzello SJ. The pleasure and displeasure people feel when they exercise at different intensities: decennial update and progress towards a tripartite rationale for exercise intensity prescription. Sports Med. 2011 Aug 1;41(8):641-71. doi: 10.2165/11590680-000000000-00000. PMID 21780850
- Ekkekakis P, Hall EE, Petruzzello SJ. Practical markers of the transition from aerobic to anaerobic metabolism during exercise: rationale and a case for affect-based exercise prescription. Prev Med. 2004 Feb;38(2):149-59. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2003.09.038. PMID 14715206
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07728240 · 2026-72