Information for our Volunteers
The Clinical Center, located in Bethesda, Maryland on the National Institutes' of Health main campus, is the largest hospital dedicated to clinical research and is a leader in medical research. In order to continue our successful studies, we rely upon our volunteers, those who participate in our clinical trials, to stay on the cutting-edge of technology and research advances. Thank you for your interest in participating in clinical research. We can't do it without you.
The clinical staff supporting the Metabolic Clinical Research Unit understand that there are many factors that can lead to obesity and weight gain. We know there are many reasons why people gain weight. We believe that weight gain is not simply a failure of the will, and we are supportive of research on the energy imbalance that leads to weight gain. We seek to demonstrate that weight gain has no single cause or solution. Through the knowledge we gain in our research, we strive to provide better understanding of this condition to both the public and health care providers. Through our efforts we hope to help de-stigmatize obesity and provide hope for a decreased incidence and severity of obesity and related conditions.
The Metabolic Clinical Research Unit the unit was designed with the comfort of our volunteers in mind. The unit features:
- special re-enforced construction, amenities and equipment which are designed to accommodate our volunteers not matter what their size
- 10 private rooms providing privacy and comfort to our volunteers during their stay
- special dining areas including group dining, experimental dining and vending machines which are available to certain studies and their volunteers
- a metabolic kitchen where dietitians can carefully determine the quantity and nutritive value of foods provided to the volunteers on studies for which the meals are controlled
- an exercise and fitness testing area with different types of equipment to accommodate volunteers of different sizes
- 3 metabolic chamber, these are rooms where a volunteer's metabolic rates are measured accurately on a minute by minute basis
- other state-of-the-art equipment for determining body composition
Page last updated: September 04, 2007
