A Virginia Tech-led research team that includes experts in behavior, exercise, physiology, and medicine is conducting a research study to determine if weight training can help to prevent diabetes in at-risk adults and to find out the best ways to help people continue to train for the long-term. 

This project will be conducted at the Riverside 1 building on Jefferson Street in Roanoke.

The researchers are looking for sedentary individuals between the ages of 50 and 69 who are non-smokers, overweight, and not presently diagnosed with diabetes. The participants also must have Internet access and be able to obtain medical clearance for participation.

This training program will last for 15 months. Laboratory testing will be done at the beginning and end of the study and after three and nine months. Participants will be paid with a Target or Walmart gift card for completing each assessment. Research subjects will receive up to 24 individual sessions with a certified personal trainer at no cost. The training sessions will take place twice per week over a three-month period and will last 45 to 60 minutes. The volunteers will then train on their own at an exercise facility of their choice for one year and will be responsible for paying the monthly membership fee for the exercise facility they choose.  

Individuals interested in participating, should visit the Resist Diabetes Study Information website. This site is designed to give people information they can use to evaluate whether or not they might wish to sign up for this project. There are 25 pages of material that describe the project's eligibility criteria, the enrollment process, how the project will work once participants are enrolled and other information that is important to prospective participants. It will take only 10 to 15 minutes to read through this material.

Questions may be sent by e-mail or call 540-857-6057.

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.

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