The aim of our project is to identify and validate biomarkers that enable an objective assessment of exercise load and recovery in sport. Especially in elite sports, targeted training control is essential to ensure effective training stimuli while minimizing the risk of overtraining. Subjective self-assessments by athletes or classical biomarkers such as creatine kinase (CK) are often unreliable or nonspecific. By applying modern metabolomics methods, we capture changes in the profile of small metabolic products (metabolites), which provide direct insights into physiological processes such as energy turnover, muscle metabolism, and recovery. In our approach, we systematically analyze biosamples from physically active individuals under controlled exercise conditions. The resulting data allow us to identify potential biomarkers that can provide early indications of overload or reflect adequate recovery.
Our research is based on a multi-stage approach: in initial human intervention studies under standardized conditions, we examine healthy, physically active participants. Metabolites that prove promising in this setting are subsequently validated in follow-up studies. In parallel, we test the applicability under more realistic conditions with professional athletes to evaluate the practical feasibility and benefits for training management.
In the long term, our project aims to optimize training control in elite sports through objective and reliable markers that enable the individualized adjustment of load and recovery. In this way, athletes can not only develop their performance more effectively but also be protected from overtraining and potential long-term consequences.
Adequate nutrition is a key factor for young athletes – it supports not only performance and recovery but is also fundamental for growth, development, and long-term health.
The objective of this project is to generate a differentiated understanding of the nutritional situation of young athletes in Germany across individual and team sports under varying conditions (training, competition, recovery) and to identify potential deficiencies, including those related to gender, sport type, and load.
This cross-sectional study combines digital dietary assessment with detailed energy expenditure measurement using heart rate and activity sensors, as well as a standardized questionnaire on nutrition knowledge and habits. This approach allows for a precise analysis of the energy and nutrient supply of 13- to 17-year-old competitive athletes in relation to their actual physical demands.
By considering different sports, load conditions, and genders, the study provides a comprehensive analysis of energy and nutrient adequacy in youth competitive sport. The results will serve as the basis for practice-oriented recommendations and educational strategies for athletes, coaches, and parents. In the long term, the project aims to contribute to the sustainable promotion of health, performance, and prevention in youth and elite sport.
KarMeN stands for "Karlsruhe Metabolomics for Nutrition". In this project of the Max Rubner Institute (MRI), connections between the lifestyle factors of nutrition and exercise and the state of health are investigated. The metabolic products of the human body are the focus of the research. The totality of these metabolic products of an organism at a certain point in time is referred to as the metabolome and is influenced by many factors. These include age, gender, hormone status, diet and physical activity. One aim of KarMeN is to characterize the metabolome of healthy women and men in order to identify metabolite patterns that determine a person's physical fitness, for example.The KarMeN collective comprises over 300 participants, in whom anthropometric, genetic, functional and clinical-chemical parameters were recorded under standardized conditions, and data on food intake and physical activity were collected by means of questionnaires. Metabolites in plasma and urine were analyzed using HPLC-MS, GC×GC-MS and NMR spectroscopy.
When a muscle is in action, it not only moves our body but also produces hormones. These messenger substances from the muscles are known as myokines and communicate with other organs, such as the brain, liver and fatty tissue. This inter-organ communication can have a variety of effects on metabolism and health. Little is known about the conditions of physical activity (moderate or intense; short or long) under which myokines are released into the blood and their metabolic effects in humans. To answer these questions, controlled studies will be conducted with volunteers, circulating myokines will be determined and metabolic changes will be characterized using the metabolome.