The purpose of this study is to learn more about how common lifestyle interventions, such as exercise, affect how our brains respond to performing thinking tasks and to viewing pictures of foods and various other objects. The investigators are also interested in how changes in hormones that might be different in men and women could affect how lifestyle interventions change these brain responses.
The purpose of this study is to learn more about how common lifestyle interventions, such as exercise, affect how our brains respond to performing thinking tasks and to viewing pictures of foods and various other objects. The investigators are also interested in how changes in hormones that might be different in men and women could affect how lifestyle interventions change these brain responses. This will help us to better understand how different lifestyle interventions affect the brain and how this might relate to various behaviors. Eligible participants will be asked to complete 2 study days before and again after a 12-week intervention period, during which they will either continue with usual activities or be asked to complete exercise sessions four times per week. They will be randomly assigned to one of these conditions (exercise or not) and will not be able to choose their group assignment.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
132
12 weeks of aerobic exercise, with 4 sessions per week.
Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, Aurora, CO
Aurora, Colorado, United States
Percent change in blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) response to visual food cues as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
Percent change in blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) response from baseline to after the 12-week intervention period while viewing visual food cues. The primary contrast of interest is the comparison of high-calorie food images to nonfood object images.
Time frame: Baseline, 12 weeks
Change in serum cortisol response to counting task
Change from baseline to after the 12-week intervention period in serum cortisol levels (micrograms per deciliter (mcg/dL)) throughout a counting task involving mental math (measured as area under the curve).
Time frame: Baseline, 12 weeks
Change in heart rate response to counting task
Change from baseline to after the 12-week intervention period in heart rate (measured by photoplethysmograph; aggregated in 1 min intervals) throughout a counting task involving mental math (measured as area under the curve).
Time frame: Baseline, 12 weeks
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