Hidden Health Risk: Exercise interventions address overlooked body characteristic
Tuesday, September 9, 2025
Media Contact: Sydney Trainor | Communications and Media Relations Specialist | 405-744-9782 | sydney.trainor@okstate.edu
Two College of Education and Human Sciences faculty have teamed up to put their expertise in health and human performance to work.
Dr. Sam Emerson, associate professor of nutritional sciences, and Dr. Bree Baker, assistant professor in the School of Kinesiology, Applied Health and Recreation, are studying the effects of exercise on underlying metabolic dysfunction risk factors.
“Dr. Baker and I are interested in how we can improve human health,” Emerson said. “I typically focus on metabolic health, and she focuses on physical function and how to help people be able to continue performing daily living activities even at an older age.”
Funded by the 2026 American Heart Association Institutional Research Enhancement Award, the two-year project aims to provide students with meritorious research experience in undergraduate and graduate programs.
“Dr. Emerson and I have complementary backgrounds, so collaborating on research is particularly important for Oklahomans’ health, as programs that include both dietary and exercise interventions are most effective,” Baker said.
As just the second study of its kind, the research evaluates Normal Weight Obesity in men — a common but often overlooked clinical population, by both physicians and academics.
Clinical obesity determinations are often derived using the body mass index equation, considering an individual’s height and weight but not the body fat to muscle mass ratio.
It is estimated 30-50% of adults in the United States that have a healthy weight as defined by BMI still have elevated body fat, placing them in the category of NWO and putting them at risk for developing long-term health implications.
While some effort has been made in understanding the risk profile of this population, including metabolic values, inflammation and gut health, a clear indicator has yet to be found for why NWO is developed. As a result, there is not a widely prescribed treatment plan for restoring body composition and improving overall health. One factor that has been isolated is low muscle mass, which is protective to the body.
Emerson and Baker hypothesize there may be a link between testosterone imbalances and individuals developing this particular profile — and exercise may be implemented as a restorative measure.
Since the group is considered normal weight, weight loss alone would not be the best way to reduce risk for future cardiovascular disease. Reducing body fat in tandem with increasing muscle mass may put individuals on the right track.
The aim of the study is to first understand the metabolic component of how someone ends up with elevated body fat and low muscle mass without developing traditional obesity, and secondly to address the body composition imbalance and get them to a healthier state.
Two interventions are being tested. Aerobic exercise is typically more effective in decreasing body fat, and resistance exercise aims to improve muscle mass.
The team is interested in comparing the interventions to see which one not only restores body composition better but improves some of the downstream health outcomes, such as diabetes and heart disease.
“Logic suggests individuals will probably benefit from a combination of aerobic and resistance exercise,” Emerson said. “This is a first step toward treating this population that will need fine tuning over time. We still have a lot to learn.”
Throughout the study, a total of 32 men with NWO will be recruited.
Control participants without the condition will also be recruited — these individuals will include both lean controls with a normal body weight and body fat ratio, as well as controls with traditional obesity.
Participants with NWO will be randomly assigned to complete 12 weeks of either aerobic or resistance training.
After the completion of training, body fat and muscle improvements will be evaluated to determine which exercise regimen was more effective in balancing hormone profiles. The team will investigate results to identify further markers that may be indicative for the development of NWO.
In a true collaborative effort, the research is being conducted through Baker’s Musculoskeletal Adaptations to Aging and eXercise (MAAX) Lab and Emerson’s Laboratory for Applied Nutrition and Exercise Science (LANES), playing to the strengths of each. LANES collects metabolic values and MAAX Lab conducts physical function measurements and facilitates the training regimens.
While Emerson and Baker are directing the research project, the day-to-day work is being executed by students.
Representing nutritional sciences are Andrea Aguirre Camorlinga — a master’s student studying dietetics research — and Tyler Godsey, a second year Ph.D. student studying nutritional biochemistry and chronic disease.
Health and human performance doctoral students Nick Spokely and Shawn Allen are working under Baker’s supervision, with Allen serving as lead for their stake in the study.
Godsey conducts study visits for LANES, drawing blood, running dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scans to measure body composition, and assisting with collection of metabolic measurements. He is charged with helping participants understand their results collected during appointments.
Godsey said thanks to the complexity of the project and collaboration with KAHR, he’s been able to conduct hands-on research. He encourages students to connect with professors about research opportunities.
“As graduate students, we wish to mentor emerging scientists to prepare them for their future careers — and there’s no better experience than in the lab,” Godsey said.
Aguirre Camorlinga has supported the study by coordinating with participants, assisting in screening protocols, and doing technical work centrifuging, pipetting and analyzing blood samples, running resting metabolic rate tests, and VO2 submaximal tests assessing oxygen uptake.
“These tasks reinforce classroom concepts and expose me to the type of evidence-based practices that dietitians must be familiar with in both clinical and research settings. Overall, this involvement is helping me become a more competent, detail-oriented and research-informed practitioner,” she said.
On the human performance side of the study, Spokely is interested in how lower-body muscle quality, derived from gray-scale ultrasonography, improves following the interventions.
To analyze this, he collects ultrasound and functional performance data, reads the images and helps in training participants.
“Muscle quality is an emerging measurement that may have significant clinical impact, such as being used as a tool to predict fall-risk in older adults,” Spokely said. “More research is needed, which is why these data sets are important to study.”
Allen aims to be a positive force in this transformation and to help the public understand the physiological shifts underpinning these trends. With plans for a career in academia, his function as the lead researcher on a major project offers him a fresh perspective on his future path after graduation.
His responsibilities in the study encompass end-to-end data management, enhancing his skillset in research, organization and mentorship.
Allen acquires and curates all functional performance datasets; captures and processes ultrasound imaging; designs, implements and oversees participant training programs; and coordinates schedules and logistics.
“I am very excited to be working with Dr. Emerson and his lab,” Allen said. “It is our hope that we will develop a relationship with LANES that can be carried forward and benefit the health and human performance students who come after Nick and me.”
Undergraduate students are directly engaging with participants in pre- and post-testing by taking height, weight and blood pressure measurements, evaluating energy expenditure and observing heart rate throughout training. In the lab, they are inputting and managing data, processing blood samples and conducting metabolic assessments.
Many of these undergraduates are pursuing careers in medicine, and this work provides experience in research and a baseline understanding of conditions they may treat in their futures as health care professionals.
“Our graduate students are the lifeblood of any study and without them research production at OSU would grind to a standstill,” Baker said.
“This project allows Dr. Emerson and my students to continue gaining valuable scientific experiences while working with research participants across the lifespan as we all aim to improve health outcomes for Oklahomans.”
It is estimated 30-50% of adults in the United States that have a healthy weight as defined by BMI still have elevated body fat, placing them in the category of Normal Weight Obesity and putting them at risk for developing long-term health implications.
Current participants in the study report increased motivation to exercise and more energy throughout the day. The study allows for a better understanding of personal body condition and provides detailed health assessments on hemoglobin levels, cholesterol and muscle mass — all free of charge.
The supportive, professional and encouraging team of graduate research students has created a positive experience and a desire to maintain exercise regimens after the program’s end.
Baker hopes by the end of this study there will be better screening practices for Oklahomans who may be at risk for underlying metabolic dysfunction, research-backed potent exercise interventions prescribed to improve current and long-term health outcomes, and data that will allow for the application of larger funding opportunities to help their team expand the impact of the study across Oklahoma.
Photo By: Ellie Piper
Story By: Kirsi McDowell | Research Matters Magazine