Brain health in trained and untrained middle aged to older adults

We will aim to recruit one hundred and thirty-five participants for this study. Recruitment will occur via an approved media release that incorporates physical advertisement, social media and information on the USQ website. The individuals will be recruited from community organisations in and around Ipswich, Toowoomba and Brisbane. Respondents will initially be screened for suitability using the Lifetime Physical Activity Questionnaire (LPAQ), Exercise and Sports Science Australia (ESSA) Adult Pre-exercise Screening System, the Yale Physical Activity Survey and a medical history questionnaire to determine whether participants meet the inclusion and/or exclusion criteria. Once participants are recruited, voluntary written informed consent will be obtained prior to any assessment being performed. Further, participants will be asked to complete a nutritional questionnaire, so that this can be assessed and that any effects that are noted throughout the study are due to exercise and not just due to changes in nutritional behaviour. The two arms of this study will consist of the untrained adults who do not participate in any exercise training, and a second arm will consist of the aerobic exercise trained adults, as determined by the aforementioned surveys. Once informed about the study and its requirements, by providing potential participants with a participant information sheet, participants that meet part of the inclusion criteria will attend USQ Ipswich for baseline screening and testing. The first screening visit will take approximately 2-2.5hrs and the second visit will take approximately 30-40min. These visits will occur on consecutive days. Prior to the start of any testing during visit 1, informed consent will be first voluntarily obtained and, once acknowledged, testing and screening will commence. These visits will incorporate the following methods: • Cerebrovascular responsiveness to hypercapnia and cognitive stimuli (NIH Toolbox, Trail Making Task) using transcranial Doppler sonography; • Profile of Mood States to ascertain current mood; • Anthropometry, determined by body weight and height (body mass index calculation), waist and hip circumferences (waist to hip ratio calculation) and Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) which will ascertain body composition of total fat mass, lean mass, body fat percentage, and bone mineral content and density; • Systolic and diastolic blood pressure and arterial elasticity will be measured non-invasively using a Research Cardiovascular Profiling System; • Biomarker analyses after blood is collected; and • Exercise capacity will be assessed using a 6 minute walk test and handgrip strength will be determined using hand dynamometry.