Request for Information (RFI): Identifying Gaps in Understanding the Mechanisms of Physical Activity-Induced Health Benefits

Additional Information:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-RM-14-001.html

Description:
Increased physical activity has been linked to numerous health benefits including improved cardiovascular and respiratory health, insulin sensitivity, bone and muscle strength, and cognitive function. In addition to these improvements, physical activity is associated with reductions in coronary heart disease, stroke, some cancers, type 2 diabetes and depression (http://www.health.gov/paguidelines/guidelines/chapter2.aspx). For most health outcomes, benefits increase as the amount of physical activity increases through higher intensity, greater frequency, or longer duration, although the magnitude of these benefits diminishes with advancing age.

For the purposes of this request, physical activity is defined as any bodily movement produced by the contraction of skeletal muscle that increases energy expenditure above basal levels.

Although researchers have demonstrated that physical activity contributes to improved health outcomes (for purposes of this request, “improved health” and related phrases include reduced risk of disease), studies tend to focus on a single signaling pathway, tissue, or organ system and have not identified the molecular mechanisms by which physical activity is beneficial. Such compartmentalization limits the scope and impact of most research findings.

The NIH Common Fund is exploring strategies to help the research community develop a more integrative perspective on the molecular and cellular mechanisms through which physical activity improves multiple health outcomes.  The NIH is requesting comments, to include but not limited to addressing the following:

A. The most pressing research questions related to the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which physical activity improves health and reduces the risk of disease.

B. The types of new protocols, techniques, and tools needed to answer these research questions.

C. The likely translational applications for new knowledge about the mechanisms by which physical activity improves overall health and the long-term, overarching benefits of this knowledge.