Students have the opportunity to write their Bachelor's or Master's thesis in the field of exercise, nutrition, and health. Theses are possible in the following research areas:
- Impact of exercise on the regulation of food intake
- Energy balance and body composition in different population groups
- Exercise, weight loss, and bone health
- Energy and nutrient requirements of athletes
Specific topic suggestions with contact persons can be found on the notice board below.
Personal topic suggestions in these research areas are also welcome and will be gladly discussed. If interested, please contact our office (info.exnutri@mh.tum.de).
Process
Announced Topics
If you are interested in one of the announced topics, please contact the specified contact person directly. Briefly state your motivation for the topic in the email and, if necessary, provide any required prior knowledge (e.g., laboratory skills, data analysis).
Personal Topic Suggestions
In addition to the announced topics, we are also happy to supervise theses with personal topic suggestions. Please ensure that your suggestion is specific and ideally linked to a research question. Avoid inquiries like "something about the menstrual cycle and nutrition" or "something about nutrition in winter sports." Specific research questions would be: "I want to investigate how appetite changes over the course of the menstrual cycle." Or "I want to examine how caffeine affects the performance of cross-country skiers."
Found a Topic and Supervisor – What's Next
Once a supervisor tentatively agrees to supervise your thesis, you are required to write a proposal before starting the work. Even though a proposal may seem like extra work at first glance, it is very helpful for you and the supervisor as it outlines in advance which goals are to be achieved and how. After creating the proposal and having it reviewed by the supervisor, you will present your project in the research colloquium. Regular communication with the supervisor should take place over the course of the thesis. Appointments for this must be individually arranged with the respective supervisor. After submitting the thesis, a final presentation in the research colloquium is often mandatory. Please check in advance whether your examination regulations require a final presentation.
Research Colloquium
In the research colloquium, students exchange ideas with the scientific staff about their ideas, their approach, the scope and structure of their thesis. On the one hand this is intended to help the students by giving them tips on how to work scientifically. On the other hand, the research colloquium is intended to ensure the students keep the thread of the thesis and thus a successful degree.
Notice Board with current Topics
Physical Activity in obese adults during an intermittent fasting study
- 1 master thesis
- The proposed master's thesis focuses on analysing physical activity data (ActiGraph, questionnaires) in obese adults, who participated in a 12-week intermittent fasting study
- The aim is to use the collected movement data to create activity profiles and to examine the progress and any changes during the study intervention
- Applicants should have prior experience with data processing and analysis (Matlab, R, Python, etc).
- If interested, please contact beate.brandl(at)tum.de and indicate why you are interested in this research project
Analysis of obesity treatment data:
- 1 master or bachelor thesis
- Applicants should have a strong background in mathematics and/or computing, and experience with data preprocessing, analysis, and visualization (Python, R)
- Basic machine learning knowledge is advantageous
- If interested, please contact christina.glasbrenner(at)tum.de and indicate why you are interested in this research project.
Effect of exercise intensity vs. duration on post-exercise hunger and energy intake
The proposed project examines the effect of different exercise intensities and durations on post-exercise hunger and energy intake. In a 5-way crossover design, participants will complete 5 exercise sessions on a treadmill in randomized order at least 5 days apart. Exercise intensity will be set at 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, and 80% of the individual VO2max, respectively, and participants will exercise in each exercise condition until reaching a set calorie expenditure target (matched across conditions). At each study condition visit, blood will be collected before, immediately after, and 30 min after the exercise condition to measure appetite-regulating hormones (PYY, GLP-1, ghrelin), and subjective appetite ratings will be assessed at these time points. In addition, participants will consume a single-item ad libitum test meal 30 min after each exercise session.
- 1-2 master‘s theses or 1 master’s and 1 bachelor’s thesis
- Prior experience with exercise testing, food intake assessment, data processing, and analysis (Matlab, R, etc) is advantageous.
- If interested, please contact christoph.hoechsmann(at)tum.de and indicate why you are interested in this research project.
Historical Development of Body Composition in International Level Ski Sport Athletes
- 1 master or bachelor thesis
- Applicants will conduct a systematic literature review on body composition trends in international Olympic ski athletes and identify physical characteristics with the highest potential for success in modern ski sports. Applicants should be familiar with literature searches and basic data visualisation.
- If interested please contact: helena.engel(at)tum.de and indicate your prior expertise in the areas mentioned above
Validation of Algorithms for Detection of Eating Events based on Continuous Glucose Monitoring Data
Accurate dietary assessment remains a challenge, particularly in free-living settings. Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) has promise in optimizing the assessment and monitoring of food intake, with potential benefits for clinical practice, including a reduced participant and staff burden. In recent years, research examining the use of CGM for the automatic detection of eating events has accumulated and detection algorithm have been developed.
The goal of the proposed master thesis is to apply several published continuous glucose monitoring data-based algorithms for meal detection to (our) existing datasets. The goal is further to identify the most accurate algorithm(s) and potentially refine them for further improved accuracy and everyday applicability.
- 1 Master Thesis
- Applicants should have a strong background in mathematics and/or computing, and experience with data processing and analysis (Matlab, R, etc).
- If interested please contact christoph.hoechsmann(at)tum.de and indicate why you are interested in this research project.
Detection of Activities of Daily Living (ADL) via Smart Meter Data
- 1-2 master theses
- The proposed master's thesis focuses on analyzing smart meter data (power and water consumption) in collaboration with an industry partner. The goal is to develop a pattern recognition algorithm to detect typical ADLs such as meal preparation (oven/stove, microwave, refrigerator, water kettle, etc) and personal hygiene (flushing the toilet, shower use, other water consumption).
- Applicants should have prior experience with data processing and analysis (Matlab, R, etc).
- If interested, please contact christoph.hoechsmann(at)tum.de and indicate why you are interested in this research project.