Clinical Trials Logo

Clinical Trial Summary

The continuing increase in prevalence of obesity in older adults including many older Veterans has become a major health concern. The clinical trial will test the central hypothesis that a multicomponent intervention consisting of lifestyle therapy (diet-induced weight loss and exercise training) plus metformin will be the most effective strategy for reversing sarcopenic obesity and frailty in older Veterans with obesity.


Clinical Trial Description

The growing prevalence of obesity in older adults including many older Veterans, has become a major concern in the US already strained health care system in general and in the VA in particular. In older adults, obesity exacerbates the age-related decline in physical function resulting in frailty, decrease in quality of life, loss of independence, and increase in nursing home admissions. The investigators' group demonstrated that weight loss from lifestyle therapy improves physical function and ameliorates frailty but the improvement was modest at best and most obese older adults remained frail. More importantly, there are concerns that the weight-loss induced loss of muscle and bone mass could worsen underlying age-related sarcopenia and osteopenia in the subset of frail obese elderly. Metformin, a biguanide, is a widely available drug used as first line treatment of type 2 diabetes. Animal studies suggest that metformin improves health span and increases lifespan, hence may represent a novel intervention for frailty. Because metformin reduces cellular senescence and senescence-associated phenotype (SASP), it is believed to retard accelerated aging most especially in older adults with obesity. The objective is to conduct a head-head comparative efficacy, placebo controlled, randomized controlled trial to test the hypothesis that lifestyle therapy + metformin for six months will be more effective than lifestyle therapy alone or metformin alone in improving physical function and preventing the weight loss-induced reduction in muscle and bone mass in obese (BMI > 30 kg/m2) older (age 65 years) Veterans with physical frailty. ;


Study Design


Related Conditions & MeSH terms


NCT number NCT04221750
Study type Interventional
Source VA Office of Research and Development
Contact Dennis T Villareal, MD
Phone (713) 794-7151
Email Dennis.Villareal@va.gov
Status Recruiting
Phase Phase 3
Start date May 14, 2021
Completion date September 30, 2026

See also
  Status Clinical Trial Phase
Completed NCT05433233 - Effects of Lifestyle Walking on Blood Pressure in Older Adults With Hypertension N/A
Recruiting NCT06032065 - Sequential Multiple Assessment Randomized Trial of Exercise for PAD: SMART Exercise for PAD (SMART PAD) Phase 3
Completed NCT05293730 - Trial of the Impact of the Electronic Frailty Integrated With Social Needs N/A
Recruiting NCT03932162 - Gene Expression Changes In Young and Geriatric Skin Early Phase 1
Completed NCT04064528 - Effects of Age on Amino Acid Delivery to Tendon N/A
Completed NCT03366129 - Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption in People With White Matter Hyperintensities Who Have Had a Stroke
Completed NCT06029920 - Influence of Overground Walking on Biomarkers, Cognitive Function, and Quality of Life in Elderly With Mild Cognitive Impairment N/A
Recruiting NCT05543980 - Leg Heat Therapy in Elderly Individuals Phase 2
Recruiting NCT05566938 - Study to Design a Precision Nutrition Strategy at a Group Level in the Elderly N/A
Completed NCT04894929 - Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment in the Monitoring of Functional Improvement N/A
Not yet recruiting NCT06071130 - Emotion, Aging, and Decision Making N/A
Enrolling by invitation NCT04641663 - Multi-target Dietary Supplement Tolerability in an Aging Population (MTDSST) N/A
Completed NCT04088006 - The Evaluation of Efficacy and Safety of Hyaluronic Acid Injection on Skin Moisturization and Elasticity N/A
Completed NCT03695081 - Patient Pathway Pharmacist - Optimal Drug-related Care N/A
Recruiting NCT05424263 - Acetate and Age-associated Arterial Dysfunction Phase 2
Completed NCT05601713 - Mitigating Heat-induced Physiological Strain and Discomfort in Older Adults Via Lower Limb Immersion and Neck Cooling N/A
Completed NCT04551339 - Zinc Versus Multivitamin Micronutrient Supplementation in the Setting of COVID-19 N/A
Recruiting NCT04997577 - Speech Perception and High Cognitive Demand N/A
Completed NCT05922475 - Efficacy of Pre-sleep or Post-exercise Protein During 12 Weeks of Resistance Exercise Training N/A
Completed NCT04015479 - Peanut Protein Supplementation to Augment Muscle Growth and Improve Markers of Muscle Quality and Health in Older Adults N/A