Activating brown adipose tissue through exercise (ACTIBATE) in young adults: rationale, design and methodology Sánchez Delgado, Guillermo Martínez Téllez, Borja Manuel Olza, Josune Aguilera García, Concepción María Labayen, Idoia Ortega Porcel, Francisco Bartolomé Chillón Garzón, Palma Fernandez Reguera, Carlos Alcántara Alcántara, Juan Manuel Martinez Avila, Wendy D. Muñoz Hernández, María Victoria Acosta Manzano, Francisco Miguel Prados Ruiz, Juan Amaro Gahete, Francisco José Hidalgo García, Laura Rodríguez Pérez, Lorena Abdel-Karim Ruiz, Yasmeen Ramírez Navarro, Ángel Miguel Muros de Fuentes, María Angustias García Rivero, Encarnación Yolanda Sánchez Sánchez, Rocío Beas-Jiménez, Juan de Dios de Teresa, Carlos Navarrete, Socorro Lozano, Rosa Maria Brea Gomez, Esther Rubio‑Lopez, Jose Ruiz Ruiz, Maria Cano-Nieto, Amalia Llamas Elvira, José Manuel Jiménez Ríos, José Antonio Gil Hernández, Ángel Ruiz Ruiz, Jonatan Aims: 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. Discussion: 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. 2025-01-31T11:21:15Z 2025-01-31T11:21:15Z 2015-11 journal article https://hdl.handle.net/10481/101622 10.1016/j.cct.2015.11.004 eng open access Elsevier