High‐intensity interval and moderate‐intensity continuous training elicit similar enjoyment and adherence levels in overweight and obese adults

Abstract

BACKGROUND: High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has been shown to improve cardiometabolic health during supervised lab-based studies but adherence, enjoyment and health benefits of HIIT performed independently are yet to be understood. We compared adherence, enjoyment and cardiometabolic outcomes after 8-weeks of HIIT or moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT), matched for energy expenditure, in overweight and obese young adults. METHODS: 17 adults were randomized to HIIT or MICT. After completing 12 sessions of supervised training over 3 weeks, participants were asked to independently perform HIIT or MICT for 30 minutes, 4 times/week for 5 weeks. Cardiometabolic outcomes included cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2peak), lipids, and inflammatory markers. Exercise enjoyment was measured by the validated Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale. RESULTS: Exercise adherence (93.4±3.1% vs 93.1±3.7%, respectively) and mean enjoyment across the intervention (100.1±4.3 vs 100.3±4.4, respectively) were high, with no differences between HIIT and MICT (p>0.05). Similarly, enjoyment levels did not change over time in either group (p>0.05). After training, HIIT exhibited a greater decrease in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol than MICT (−0.66 mmol·L−1 vs. −0.03 mmol·L−1, respectively) and a greater increase in VO2peak than MICT (p<0.05, +2.6 ml·kg.min−1 vs. +0.4 ml·kg.min−1, respectively). Interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein increased in HIIT (+0.5 pg·mL−1 and +31.4 nmol·L−1, respectively) and decreased in MICT (−0.6 pg·mL−1 and −6.7 nmol·L−1, respectively, p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our novel findings suggest that HIIT is enjoyable and has high unsupervised adherence rates in overweight and obese adults. However, HIIT may be associated with an increase in inflammation with short-term exercise in this population.

Is interval training the magic bullet for fat loss? A systematic review and meta-analysis comparing moderate-intensity continuous training with high-intensity interval training (HIIT)

“…HIIT programmes, when compared with MOD, promote greater increases in $true0\dot{V}$ O 2 max,13 ventricular and endothelial function,14 greater or comparable improvements in insulin sensitivity15 and blood pressure,16 lower ratings of perceived exertion,17 similar6 or higher levels of enjoyment,17 18 and similar6 or higher adherence18 than MOD, depending on how the programme is designed. In addition, despite lower training volume in SIT programmes, SIT may promote increases in skeletal muscle oxidative capacity,19 specific metabolic adaptations during exercise19 and exercise performance similar to MOD 20…”

Muscle adaptation in response to a high-intensity interval training in obese older adults: effect of daily protein intake distribution

“…More importantly, it has been observed that HIIT improved body composition (total or appendicular fat and lean masses), muscle function (muscle mass and power), aerobic capacities (VO 2max ) or reduced cardiometabolic risk factors (waist circumference, waist-hip circumference ratio, diastolic blood pressure and fasting glucose levels) in older adults [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]. Finally, HIIT elicited similar or higher enjoyment and adherence levels than moderate-intensity continuous training [34,35].…”

Affective and Enjoyment Responses to Short-Term High-Intensity Interval Training with Low-Carbohydrate Diet in Overweight Young Women

“…Although it has been well acknowledged that MICT is associated with positive affective changes [14], the psychological consequences of HIIT are still less clear due to diverse populations and various training protocols. However, despite inconsistent results in affective and enjoyment responses to HIIT compared to MICT [11,[15][16][17][18], a recent systematic review and meta-analysis study [11] showed that HIIT may be a viable strategy for obtaining positive psychological responses. In addition, as a particular form of HIIT, the repeated sprint training modality with extremely short exercise duration (≤10 s of work bout at near to maximal intensity) has received increasing attention because of its physiological benefits and time-efficient characteristics [19][20][21][22][23][24].…”