Scientific research Nijmegen Exercise Study (NES)

Participants

The NES is a population-based cohort study that also includes highly physically active individuals. Approximately 25,000 participants have been enrolled so far.

The NES is a population-based cohort study that also includes highly physically active individuals. Approximately 25,000 participants have been enrolled so far. Both individuals with and without chronic diseases participate in the NES, and individuals have physical activity levels ranging from inactive to extremely active. Participants fill out annual questionnaires. Average follow-up duration is 8 years, and follow-up data of >5 years are available in almost half of the participants.

Interested in participation? Please visit: https://www.nijmeegsbeweegonderzoek.nl/.

Measurements

The NES consists of baseline and annual follow-up questionnaires and, in a subset of participants, additional testing at Radboudumc.

New participants fill out a comprehensive baseline questionnaire to collect a wide range of characteristics such as age, sex, employment, medical history, and (historical) physical activity and sedentary behaviour patterns. Annual follow-up questionnaires are sent out to update information on lifestyle characteristics and chronic diseases. 

Since 2021, we annually invite about 400 NES participants to Radboudumc to undergo additional testing, including blood pressure, body composition, and accelerometer-based physical activity patterns.
 

Collaborate

Data of the NES are available to scientific researchers upon request and for a standardised fee. Researchers can submit a research proposal to the corresponding author. The proposal should include details on the data that are requested as well as the research purpose and design. Proposals will be reviewed by the principal investigators. Upon approval of the proposal, data will be shared via a secure, virtual workspace (Digital Research Environment, DRE). This allows researchers from all over the world to access the data as well as all the standard software packages needed for analysis. Please contact the research team (Thijs.Eijsvogels@radboudumc.nl) for data availability inquiries.

Findings

Findings of the Nijmegen Exercise Study have been published in the several articles:

• Bakker, E. A. et al. Correlates of Total and domain-specific Sedentary behavior: a cross-sectional study in Dutch adults. BMC Public Health 20 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-8316-6
• Wanders, L. et al. Association between sedentary time and cognitive function: A focus on different domains of sedentary behavior. Preventive Medicine 153, 106731 (2021). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106731
• Schoofs, M. C. A. et al. Impact of Dutch COVID-19 restrictive policy measures on physical activity behavior and identification of correlates of physical activity changes: a cohort study. BMC Public Health 22 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-12560-y
• van der Sluijs, K. M. et al. Long-term cardiovascular health status and physical functioning of nonhospitalized patients with COVID-19 compared with non-COVID-19 controls. American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology 324, H47-H56 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00335.2022
• Maessen, M. F. H. et al. Entering a New Era of Body Indices: The Feasibility of a Body Shape Index and Body Roundness Index to Identify Cardiovascular Health Status. PLoS ONE 9, e107212 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0107212
• Maessen, M. F. H. et al. Lifelong Exercise Patterns and Cardiovascular Health. Mayo Clinic Proceedings 91, 745-754 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2016.02.028
• Bakker, E. A. et al. Association Between Statin Use and Prevalence of Exercise-Related Injuries: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Amateur Runners in the Netherlands. Sports Medicine 47, 1885-1892 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-017-0681-7
• Van Der Sluijs, K. M. et al. Central and local arterial stiffness in White Europeans compared to age-, sex-, and BMI-matched South Asians. PLOS ONE 18, e0290118 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0290118
• Stamatakis, E. et al. Emerging collaborative research platforms for the next generation of physical activity, sleep and exercise medicine guidelines: the Prospective Physical Activity, Sitting, and Sleep consortium (ProPASS). British Journal of Sports Medicine 54, 435-437 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2019-100786
• Blodgett, J. M. et al. Device-measured physical activity and cardiometabolic health: the Prospective Physical Activity, Sitting, and Sleep (ProPASS) consortium. European Heart Journal (2023). https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehad717
• Ahmadi, M. N. et al. Relationship of device measured physical activity type and posture with cardiometabolic health markers: pooled dose–response associations from the Prospective Physical Activity, Sitting and Sleep Consortium. Diabetologia (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-024-06090-y