NCT07271108

Carrying Heavy Shopping Bags and Muscle Function

The Effect of Carrying Heavy Shopping Bags on Muscle Function and Mass: a Randomized Controlled Trial.

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 45 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Glasgow · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 16 Years – 75 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

What Is This Study About? To find out whether carrying heavy shopping bags twice a week can help adults not currently meeting physical activity strength guidelines improve muscle mass, strength, power, and endurance. What Can Be learnt? * Can carrying shopping bags help improve muscle mass, strength, power, and endurance? * Should carrying shopping bags be included within physical activity recommendations? Two groups will be compared: * One group will carry shopping bags twice a week within a controlled lab environment * The other group won't change anything in their routine. What Will Participants Do? * Self-select a weight for shopping bags that is heavy but can be carried for 15 minutes to use for all sessions * Walk with shopping bags for 15 minutes at a normal walking speed for carrying shopping home from the supermarket. * After each minute, the time stops and participants place bags on the floor. The time restarts for the next minute when the participant chooses to pick up the bags again.

Conditions

• Strength
• Strength Training Effects
• Resistance Exercise

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Experimental: Shopping bag carrying	Four-week shopping bag carry intervention (15 mins, 2x per week). Performed under supervision in laboratory.

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-04-24
• Primary completion: 2025-07-16
• Completion: 2025-07-16
• First posted: 2025-12-09
• Last updated: 2025-12-09

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United Kingdom