Expert consensus statement for basic research of animal exercise intervention studies in chronic disease prevention and treatment: A joint position paper of the Exercise Science branch of the Biophysical Society of China and the Metabolism and Genetics branch of the Genetics Society of China

Yihua Bei; Dan Zhong; Junmei Lu; Yan Qiu; T Scott Bowen; Ning Chen; Yaoshan Dun; Feng Gao; Yu Huang; Guoping Li; Jia Li; Jin Li; Fangchao Liu; Weina Liu; Xinran Ma; Anthony Rosenzweig; Michail Spanos; Zhenjun Tian; Peng Yin; Ru Wang; Yao Wang; Danyan Xu; Lingyan Xu; Li Zhang; Jihui Zhang; Xing Zhang; Qiulian Zhou; Yuandong Qiao; Ming Xu; Junjie Xiao

doi:10.1016/j.jshs.2025.101103

Expert consensus statement for basic research of animal exercise intervention studies in chronic disease prevention and treatment: A joint position paper of the Exercise Science branch of the Biophysical Society of China and the Metabolism and Genetics branch of the Genetics Society of China

J Sport Health Sci. 2025 Nov 21:101103. doi: 10.1016/j.jshs.2025.101103. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yihua Bei¹, Dan Zhong¹, Junmei Lu¹, Yan Qiu¹, T Scott Bowen², Ning Chen³, Yaoshan Dun⁴, Feng Gao⁵, Yu Huang⁶, Guoping Li⁷, Jia Li⁵, Jin Li¹, Fangchao Liu⁸, Weina Liu⁹, Xinran Ma¹⁰, Anthony Rosenzweig¹¹, Michail Spanos⁷, Zhenjun Tian¹², Peng Yin¹³, Ru Wang¹⁴, Yao Wang¹⁵, Danyan Xu¹⁶, Lingyan Xu¹⁰, Li Zhang¹⁷, Jihui Zhang¹⁸, Xing Zhang⁵, Qiulian Zhou¹¹, Yuandong Qiao¹⁹, Ming Xu²⁰, Junjie Xiao²¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Geriatrics (Shanghai University), Cardiac Regeneration and Ageing Lab, Affiliated Nantong Hospital of Shanghai University (The Sixth People's Hospital of Nantong) and School of Life Sciences, Shanghai University, Nantong 226011, China; Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Organ Repair, Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, Joint International Research Laboratory of Biomaterials and Biotechnology in Organ Repair (Ministry of Education), School of Life Sciences, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China.
² School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.
³ Tianjiu Research and Development Center for Exercise Nutrition and Foods, Hubei Key Laboratory of Exercise Training and Monitoring, College of Sports Medicine, Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan 430079, China.
⁴ Division of Cardiac Rehabilitation, Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China; National Clinical Research Centre for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, China.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Aerospace Medicine, Ministry of Education; School of Aerospace Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, China.
⁶ Department of Biomedical Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China.
⁷ Cardiovascular Division of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
⁸ National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Department of Epidemiology, Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100037, China.
⁹ Key Laboratory of Adolescent Health Assessment and Exercise Intervention of Ministry of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China; College of Physical Education and Health, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China.
¹⁰ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China.
¹¹ University of Michigan Medical Center, Stanley and Judith Frankel Institute for Heart and Brain Health, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
¹² Institute of Sports Biology, College of Physical Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710119, China.
¹³ National Center for Chronic and Non-communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100050, China.
¹⁴ School of Exercise and Health, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China.
¹⁵ Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China; State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China; Department of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China.
¹⁶ Department of Internal Cardiovascular Medicine, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410011, China; National Clinical Research Center for Metabolic Diseases, Ministry of Education, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410011, China.
¹⁷ Key Laboratory of Central Nervous System (CNS) Regeneration (Ministry of Education), Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
¹⁸ Center for Sleep and Circadian Medicine, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510370, China; Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510260, China.
¹⁹ Key Laboratory of Preservation of Human Genetic Resources and Disease Control in China, Harbin Medical University, Ministry of Education, Harbin 150081, China; Department of Medical Genetics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150081, China; Key Laboratory of Frigid Zone Exercise Health Research and Translation in Heilongjiang Province, Harbin Medical University-Daqing, Daqing 163319, China. Electronic address: qiaoyuandong@hrbmu.edu.cn.
²⁰ Department of Cardiology and Institute of Vascular Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Vascular Homeostasis and Remodeling, National Health Commission (NHC) Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Molecular Biology and Regulatory Peptides, Beijing Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Receptors Research, Peking University Third Hospital, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China; Research Unit of Medical Science Research Management/Basic and Clinical Research of Metabolic Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100191, China. Electronic address: xuminghi@bjmu.edu.cn.
²¹ Institute of Geriatrics (Shanghai University), Cardiac Regeneration and Ageing Lab, Affiliated Nantong Hospital of Shanghai University (The Sixth People's Hospital of Nantong) and School of Life Sciences, Shanghai University, Nantong 226011, China; Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Organ Repair, Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, Joint International Research Laboratory of Biomaterials and Biotechnology in Organ Repair (Ministry of Education), School of Life Sciences, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China. Electronic address: junjiexiao@shu.edu.cn.

PMID: 41276165
DOI: 10.1016/j.jshs.2025.101103

Abstract

Chronic diseases, broadly defined as long-duration conditions that require sustained medical care and/or limit activities of daily living, are a major problem that threatens human health and imposes large social and economic burdens. Physical activity has many beneficial effects for human health and is among the most cost-effective ways to prevent and treat chronic diseases. Animal exercise intervention studies are widely used and provide valuable scientific evidence about the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the effects of exercise training in a variety of chronic disease models. This consensus statement will provide expert opinions and recommendations for the appropriate design and application of animal exercise intervention studies and models in fundamental investigations of prevention and treatment of chronic diseases, especially focusing on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases (coronary artery disease and stroke), metabolic diseases (obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus), chronic respiratory diseases (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), and neurological diseases (Alzheimer's disease). This statement highlights various exercise models (as determined by frequency, intensity, time, and type of exercise intervention) utilized for each disease. Additionally, it includes a list of functional, structural, biochemical, and disease-specific evaluation metrics of exercise effects, followed by outlined recommendations for the exercise study design and evaluations for the mentioned chronic diseases. This consensus aimed to offer practical recommendations for better design and conduct of fundamental research in animal exercise intervention studies to improve our understanding of the effects of exercise on chronic diseases, and to further develop physical exercise or exercise-mimetic interventions for disease prevention and treatment.

Keywords: Animal study; Chronic diseases; Exercise; Physical activity.