The Energy Cost of Living in the Developing World
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ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05563896 |
Recruitment Status :
Not yet recruiting
First Posted : October 3, 2022
Last Update Posted : February 27, 2023
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Condition or disease | Intervention/treatment |
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Food Requirements | Other: No intervention |

Study Type : | Observational |
Estimated Enrollment : | 200 participants |
Observational Model: | Cohort |
Time Perspective: | Cross-Sectional |
Official Title: | The Energy Cost of Living in the Developing World |
Estimated Study Start Date : | February 28, 2023 |
Estimated Primary Completion Date : | October 1, 2023 |
Estimated Study Completion Date : | October 1, 2024 |
Group/Cohort | Intervention/treatment |
---|---|
China
We plan to enroll 200 healthy adults in this study at five different international sites (China, Iran, Kenya, Senegal, UAE). Forty subjects will be enrolled at each site. Previous studies showed energy requirements varied with sex and age of the participants. Therefore, in each site, 20 males and 20 females will be recruited respectively. The samples will comprise individuals aged 18-50. Half will be male and half female. Half of the samples will be collected in 'summer' (June, July and August) and half in 'winter' (October, November and December). The same individuals will not be measured in both seasons.
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Other: No intervention
No intervention |
Sénégal
Forty subjects will be enrolled at Senegal site.In Senegal site, 20 males and 20 females will be recruited respectively. The samples will comprise individuals aged 18-50. Half will be male and half female. Half of the samples will be collected in 'summer' (June, July and August) and half in 'winter' (October, November and December). The same individuals will not be measured in both seasons.
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Other: No intervention
No intervention |
Kenya
Forty subjects will be enrolled at Kenya site.In Kenya site, 20 males and 20 females will be recruited respectively. The samples will comprise individuals aged 18-50. Half will be male and half female. Half of the samples will be collected in 'summer' (June, July and August) and half in 'winter' (October, November and December). The same individuals will not be measured in both seasons.
|
Other: No intervention
No intervention |
United Arab Emirates
Forty subjects will be enrolled at UAE site.In UAE site, 20 males and 20 females will be recruited respectively. The samples will comprise individuals aged 18-50. Half will be male and half female. Half of the samples will be collected in 'summer' (June, July and August) and half in 'winter' (October, November and December). The same individuals will not be measured in both seasons.
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Other: No intervention
No intervention |
Iran
Forty subjects will be enrolled at Iran site.In Iran site, 20 males and 20 females will be recruited respectively. The samples will comprise individuals aged 18-50. Half will be male and half female. Half of the samples will be collected in 'summer' (June, July and August) and half in 'winter' (October, November and December). The same individuals will not be measured in both seasons.
|
Other: No intervention
No intervention |
- Total Energy Expenditure (TEE) [ Time Frame: 14 days ]TEE will be measured using the DLW method. Urine samples from all participants in the DLW subset will be stored at -20 oC and shipped on dry ice for analysis in the laboratory of Dr. John Speakman at the University of Aberdeen, or the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese academy of sciences. Isotopes will be measured in benchtop near-infrared isotope gas analyzer, and mean CO2 production will be calculated from isotope ratios using the recently derived equation. TEE will then be calculated using mean CO2 production.
- Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) [ Time Frame: 40 minutes ]RMR will be measured by indirect calorimetry while participants are resting supine in thermoneutral conditions. Oxygen consumption and CO2 production will be measured over a period of 25 min, and measurements from the final 10 min will be used to calculate RMR using Weir's equation. Calorimeters will be assessed with a turbine test to ensure accuracy of measurements.
- Physical Activity [ Time Frame: 14 days ]Physical activity estimates obtained from the activity monitors will be used to assess energy expenditure concurrently with TEE and RMR measurements. The output generated from the accelerometer worn near the hip will include the following: 24-hour physical activity and sleep/wake measurements including acceleration, activity counts, energy expenditure, and physical activity intensity
- Bioelectrical impedance [ Time Frame: 10 minutes ]The BIA method will be used to estimate total body water, fat and fat free mass using the BIA machine available at each site. Since this is a cross-sectional study, a uniform BIA machine is not specified as a requirement in the protocol. Where available body composition by DZ=XA will also be measured.
- Height, Weight, Waist Circumference, and Blood Pressure [ Time Frame: 20 minutes ]Duplicate measurements of weight (to +0.1kg), height (to +0.1 cm), hip and waist circumference (to +0.3 cm), and blood pressure will be taken. At visit 1, fasting weight will be measured at the beginning of the visit. Fasting weight will be measured at visit 2 and, if applicable.
- Environmental temperature [ Time Frame: 14 days ]The Ibutton (DS1921G) monitors will be provided for the assessment of both indoor and outdoor temperature of their living environment. The iButtons can be affixed to the hand bag (or clothes) to measure the subject exposure temperature, an indoor wall of home and workplace, and the building outside to measure the outdoor temperature using a strip of adhesive, water resistant, medical grade tape.
- Metabolomics and SNP genotyping [ Time Frame: 1 month ]The subjects will have their venous blood collected in a fasted state. 4ml of venous blood (BD vacutainer K2 EDTA, BD, USA) will be used to separate plasma for metabolomics analysis and to extract genomic DNA (TIANamp Blood DNA kit, TIANGEN, China. QIAamp Midi Blood DNA kit, QIAGEN, Germany) for Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping (Agena MassARRAY, CapitalBio Technology, China).

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Ages Eligible for Study: | 18 Years to 50 Years (Adult) |
Sexes Eligible for Study: | All |
Sampling Method: | Non-Probability Sample |
Inclusion Criteria:
- adults working at least 3 out of 7 days per week for a total of >12 hours per week
- ages 18-50 years
- willing to enroll in the study and complete all study requirements
Exclusion Criteria:
- current pregnancy or pregnancy within the last 12 months, and/or currently breast feeding or lactating
- Individuals with known non-communicable disease notably diabetes, cardiovascular disease or cancer
- any diseases or chronic use of medications that would influence ability to comply with the study requirements
- Individuals with infectious disease will also be excluded (HIV, Lassa fever, malaria and Sars-Cov2) In sites where large populations adhere to Ramadan, we will avoid religious festival periods.

To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT05563896
Contact: John R. Speakman, Doctor | 15810868669 | j.speakman@abdn.ac.uk | |
Contact: Xueying Zhang, Doctor | 18201296155 | zhangxy@siat.ac.uk |
China, Guangdong | |
Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology,Chinese Academy of Sciences | |
Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, 518055 | |
Contact: John Speakman, Doctor 15810868669 j.speakman@abdn.ac.uk | |
Contact: Xueying Zhang, Doctor 18201296155 zhangxy@siat.ac.cn |
Principal Investigator: | John R. Speakman, Doctor | Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences |
Responsible Party: | John R. Speakman, Principal Investigator, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences |
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: | NCT05563896 |
Other Study ID Numbers: |
SIAT-IRB-220715-H0604 |
First Posted: | October 3, 2022 Key Record Dates |
Last Update Posted: | February 27, 2023 |
Last Verified: | February 2023 |
Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement: | |
Plan to Share IPD: | No |
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product: | No |
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product: | No |