A healthy lifestyle is able to reverse the epidemic development of overweight, and cardio-metabolic disease. Unfortunately, most people do not manage to incorporate or to maintain the recommended changes in their daily lifestyle. This may be due to the fact that people do not perceive the benefits of a healthy lifestyle in the short term. There is evidence that a well-controlled blood glucose level—by boosting physical and mental energy—may also be an important determinant of wellbeing, mental and physical performance. The link between blood glucose and the latter factors has hardly been studied. Moreover, it is not known to what extent these relationships differ in healthy subjects and subjects with an impaired glucose metabolism. On the other hand, despite being compliant to lifestyle advices, the metabolic flexibility to respond to lifestyle intervention may vary between individuals. Recent evidence indicates that insulin resistance and metabolic inflexibility may develop separately in different organs, representing different etiologies towards cardio-metabolic diseases. Interestingly, these tissue-specific sub-phenotypes may have a differential response to diet, suggesting that successful lifestyle interventions may require a more personalised approach. The present proposal intends to (1) unravel the metabolic and dietary/lifestyle determinants of blood glucose control and mental and physical performance and well-being (2) study the impact of tailored dietary and/or physical activity interventions on these parameters (3) develop and test multi-scale tissue dynamic and mathematical models on diet and lifestyle in relation to blood glucose homeostasis and mental and physical performance and well-being in overweight subjects.

This research focuses on implementing sit-to-stand desks in higher education to reduce sedentary time and improve student mental wellbeing. Since students in higher vocational education and academic education have less classes and more self-study hours than students in vocational education and training (VET), previous findings from VET cannot be directly translated to higher education. Through co-creation, we explore the needs and preferences of higher education students to implement sit-to-stand desks. Subsequently, we test the effect of this implementation during six months on physical activity, mental wellbeing, and academic performance. Positive results can stimulate wider use of sit-stand desks in education.

The human intestine harbours a complex community of microbes, collectively called the microbiota, which is a key component of a healthy body. The microbiota composition and diversity changes when adults become elderly, a transition that is furthermore associated with various health and lifestyle changes. Both an altered composition and metabolic activity will impact age-related disease states. Although the link between ageing and a changing microbiota is evident, very little information is available on concomitant changes in functional capacity. To this end, we hypothesize that the impact of specific non-digestible carbohydrates on structure and function of the intestinal microbiota will be different in elderly versus adults, and that the extent of these differences will correlate with markers of frailty in the elderly. In the proposed project, we will characterize intestinal microbes and their fermentative capacity in colon and ileum of elderly and adults. In a first placebo-controlled GOS intervention study, the effect on faecal microbiota composition and activity will be assessed in both populations. Additionally, the effect on breath metabolites (VOCs) and host health factors relating to frailty will be included. A second study in subsets of each population will address microbiota composition and activity differences between distal ileum and proximal colon using GOS, and positioned catheters for in situ sampling. Subsequently, detailed characteristics of GOS fermentation by key microbes will be studied, which will lead to virtual microbiota models of the ileum and colon that can be used to predict carbohydrate fermentation kinetics and health outcome in elderly.

The symposium entitled: "From Crop to Clinic - making use of the natural strengths of microbiomes", focuses on the relevance and potential of the microbiome in health improvement. By inviting keynote speakers who are leaders in their respective disciplines, the symposium will provide a comprehensive overview of the latest advancements and methodologies in microbiome research and its clinical applications.

The Netherlands Society of Toxicology (NVT) brings together experts from various fields of toxicology to exchange knowledge and collaborate. Each year, we organize a two-day scientific conference featuring presentations, workshops, and networking opportunities. This event provides young researchers, such as Master’s students and PhD candidates, with the chance to present their work and connect with experienced professionals from academia, industry, and regulatory bodies. In this way, we foster collaboration and innovation within the field and support the next generation of toxicologists in their professional development.