Recruiting

Exercise with Education

Sponsor:

VA Office of Research and Development

Code:

NCT07206368

Conditions

Falls

Sarcopenia

Obesity

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 55+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Fall prevention exercise

Health promotion education

Study Details

Brief summary:

Falls are a major health risk for older Veterans, especially those with both obesity and low muscle mass or strength (sarcopenia), which together increase the chances of falling and losing independence. Many older Veterans have difficulty staying active and often lack information about how to safely exercise. While current guidelines focus mostly on weight loss, losing weight alone can weaken muscles and bones, which may actually raise the risk of falls and injuries. This study is testing the benefits of a virtual group exercise program combined with health education. The goal is to find out if exercise combined with health education is better at lowering fall risk and improving daily activity than health education alone for Veterans with obesity and signs of sarcopenia.

Conditions

Falls

Sarcopenia

Obesity

Study ID

NCT07206368

Start date

Apr 1, 2026

Status verified date

Apr, 2026

Completion date

May 30, 2031

Anticipated

Primary completion date

May 1, 2030

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 55+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Veteran status
  • 55 years or older
  • VA primary care provider
  • Enrolled in the VA Maryland Health Care System for health care
  • Body mass index between and including 30 - 40 kg/m\^2
  • Showing signs of sarcopenia

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Poorly controlled hypertensin
  • Home oxygen use
  • Contraindications to exercise or resistance exercise
  • Significant cognitive impairment
  • Other medical condition precluding patient participation in this study per the medical judgement of the study team

Study Design

Enrollment

50 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: EX + EDU

Participation in a live virtual fall-prevention exercise intervention plus a health promotion education program.

active comparator: EDU

Participation in a live virtual health promotion education program alone.

Interventions

Fall prevention exercise

Participants will attend a virtual exercise-based group fall prevention class that focuses on movement and obstacle negotiation 3 times per week for 3 months.

Health promotion education

Participants will attend a virtual group health promotion education class that focuses on reasons to maintain a healthy lifestyle and local resources to support them in this. The sessions will take place 1 time per week for 3 months.

Primary outcome measure

  • Balance [ Time Frame: 3 months ]
  • Physical activity [ Time Frame: 3 months ]
  • Knee extension strength [ Time Frame: 3 months ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Julie S Rekant, DPT PhD

(410) 605-7000Julie.Rekant@va.gov

Olivia Porcello, BS

(410) 605-7000porcello.olivia@va.gov

Locations

Baltimore VA Medical Center VA Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, MD

Recruiting

Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21201

Contacts

Julie S Rekant, DPT PhD

(410) 605-7000Julie.Rekant@va.gov

Olivia Porcello, BS

(410) 605-7000porcello.olivia@va.gov

Principal Investigator:

Julie S Rekant, DPT PhD

More Information

Sponsor

VA Office of Research and Development

Last update posted

Apr 21, 2026

Last verified

Apr, 2026

Keywords

  • fall

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by VA Office of Research and Development on 2026-04-21.