Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Cold Exposure Study
This study is looking at whether taking fish oil supplements can help your body respond better to cold. Specifically, it will examine if fish oil can affect how your body activates brown fat (a type of fat that burns calories to produce heat), how much you shiver, your comfort in the cold, and blood flow to your skin. You may be able to join if you are a healthy adult between 18 and 40 years old, have a healthy body mass index (BMI), and are moderately to highly active. The study will measure success by looking at your core body temperature, metabolic measurements (how your body uses energy), and how much you shiver after being exposed to cold air. The current recruitment status is unclear, but the study plans to enroll 30 participants.
- Study design
- This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, meaning participants will be randomly assigned to receive either fish oil or a placebo (olive oil) without knowing which they are getting. It plans to enroll 30 healthy men and women.
- What's involved
- Participants will take 6 capsules daily of either fish oil or olive oil for 12 weeks. Before starting and at 6 and 12 weeks, you will have your body's response to cold assessed in an environmental chamber for about 125 minutes.
- Compensation
- Not stated in the trial record.
- Follow-up
- The study assesses whole-body thermoregulation at 6- and 12-weeks post-supplementation, with measurements taken over a 125-minute period at each assessment.
AI-generated from the public study record. Only the study team can confirm whether you're eligible — confirm details with them before making decisions.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids as Regulators of Brown Adipose Tissue During Cold Exposure
At a glance
Conditions
NCT05822141
Where you'd take part
This study runs at 1 site. They're the same protocol — you choose where, and that choice sets who your contact draft is addressed to.
Human Perfromance Lab, Indiana University
Bloomington, Indianastudy coordinator listed
Recruiting
Sites open and close at different times, so the status above is per site — it can differ from the study's overall status.
Study leadership
- Timothy D Mickleborough, PhD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · Indiana University
Who to contact
Opens a ready-to-send draft in your own email app — review before sending.
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Inclusion
Exclusion
What this trial measures
- Core Temperature:125 minutes
Core body temperature will be continuously measured by a rectal probe
- Metabolic Measurements (indirect calorimetry):125 minutes
Metabolic rate will be measured via indirect calorimetry (i.e., via the analysis of expired gases and ventilation).
- Indices of Shivering125 minutes
Surface mechanomyography will be assessed by three triaxial accelerometers adhered to the skin using adhesive tape on the chest, upper back, and thigh will be used to assess shivering
- Minnesota Manual Dexterity Test (MMDT)10 minutes
The MMDT \[28,29,30\] consists of a 60-hole, thin board with red and black blocks (3.7cm) and is comprised of the turning test and the placing test. During the turning test will be modified to only use the dominant hand. During this task, the participant takes a block from the top right corner with their dominant and places it in the hole with their dominant hand. During the placing test, the participant takes one at a time in their dominant hand and places the black in the whole on the board. Scoring of this test is the time it takes to complete each test.
- Thermal Perception Scales125 minutes
Thermal perceptions will be assessed using Likert scales for thermal discomfort and thermal sensation. Thermal perceptions will be assessed using Likert scales for thermal discomfort and thermal sensation. Participants will complete Likert scales to assess their thermal comfort (1 = comfortable, 4 = very uncomfortable) and thermal sensation (1 = cold, 4 = neutral, 7 = hot).
- Thermal Comfort (behavior)125 minutes
A series of small tubes will be placed on the back of the participant's neck. The participants will control the temperature of the water perfusing these tubes by turning a valve. This will allow for the voluntary control of neck temperatures from 20-35 degrees Celsius. Participants will be instructed to control the temperature of the water bath so that their neck will always be thermally comfortable
- Infrared Thermography125 minutes
An infrared thermography camera will be used to measure skin temperature in the supraclavicular (i.e., collar bone) region. This provides a non-invasive estimate of brown adipose tissue activation
- Cold Chamber Challenge125 minutes
The environmental chamber set to 29 degrees Celsius (C; 84 degrees Fahrenheit, F) at the beginning of the experimental visit. While in the chamber, participants will be instructed to be sedentary. The chamber will then be cooled at a rate of 1 deg C per 5 minutes until 4 deg C (39.2 deg F) is reached (\~125 minutes) with a wind speed of 4.5 m/s. Once 4 deg C air temperature is reached, participants will remain in the chamber for an additional 30 minutes or until the participant can no longer tolerate the cold or if rectal temperature falls below 35.5 deg C (95.9 deg F).
- 24 Hour Dietary Recalls12 weeks
Participants will be asked to record all food, beverages and supplements consumed during a 24-hour period pre-supplementation, and every 2 weeks during the supplementation period for a total of \~7 dietary recalls to ensure that dietary habits do not change during the 12 week supplementation period.
- Skin Temperature125 minutes
Wireless temperature sensors (iButtons, Maxim Inc.) will be attached to 12 sites on the body (forehead, calf, thigh, foot, quadriceps, hamstring, chest, abdomen, upper back, lower back, forearm, and hand) using adhesive tape to measure skin temperature.
- Nine Hole Peg Test (NHPT)10 minutes
The NHPT, a manual dexterity test, consists of 9 holes (10mm diameter, 15mm depth) separated by 32mm, and 9 pegs (7mm diameter, 32mm length). During the test, participants will be instructed to take the pegs from a container one by one and place them into the holes on the board as quickly as possible, with their dominant hand. Scoring of this test is the time it takes to complete each test.