The Relationship Between Exercise Frequency, Intensity, and Restoration of Cardiometabolic Health

NCT ID: NCT03376685

Last Updated: 2020-04-29

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 23 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2018-05-30
• Study Completion Date: 2019-11-18

Brief Summary

Regular physical activity is well established to decrease the risk of cardiometabolic diseases. While research has characterized responses based on exercise intensity, many beneficial effects of exercise are transient in nature, and therefore exercise frequency may play an important, yet currently under-appreciated, role in improving health. The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of 6-week high-frequency endurance (END) or low-frequency sprint (SIT) training with respect to reducing clinically relevant cardiometabolic risk factors in overweight/obese males. It is hypothesized that END, performed at a greater frequency than SIT, will markedly improve cardiometabolic health, while low-frequency SIT will not.

Detailed Description

Involvement in regular physical activity is known to elicit systemic adaptations and reduce the risk of cardiometabolic diseases, including hypertension, obesity, dyslipidemia, and hyperglycemia. Traditional physical activity recommendations suggest that 150 minutes of moderate-intensity continuous endurance (END) exercise dispersed over 5 days per week is sufficient to improve physical fitness in adults. However, given the commonly cited barrier of "lack of time," literature has recently focused on time effective sprint interval training (SIT), obtaining equivalent increases in aerobic capacity and acute glycemic regulation compared to classical END exercise when protocols are work-matched. Despite these similarities, END is conducive to daily sessions not feasible of SIT. As improvements in many clinically relevant risk factors are transient in nature following exercise, it remains imperative to assess the implications of variable frequency exercise regimes performed as per general practice (i.e. high-frequency END, low-frequency SIT). Furthermore, improvements in cardiovascular outcomes following END have been shown, in some instances, to be absent in response to SIT, suggesting END may be more beneficial for cardiovascular health. Therefore, the current study aims to assess several markers of cardiovascular (aerobic capacity, blood pressure, arterial stiffness, vascular endothelial function) and metabolic (glucose tolerance, lipid tolerance, body composition) health following 6-weeks of high-frequency END or low-frequency SIT, performed as per general practice. Combined, this research will provide important insight into the under-appreciated role of exercise frequency for improving cardiometabolic health.

Conditions

Overweight or Obesity

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Endurance Exercise Training (END)

This group is performing END training for 6 weeks in duration. Intervention: Behavioral: Endurance Exercise Training (END)

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Endurance Exercise Training (END)

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Physical activity will be conducted on cycle ergometers under supervision. Participants will exercise 5 days a week for 30 minutes (Week 1-2); 35 minutes (Weeks 3-4); or 40 minutes (Weeks 5-6) at 60% VO2 peak.

Sprint Exercise Training (SIT)

This group is performing SIT training for 6 weeks in duration. Intervention: Behavioral: Sprint Exercise Training (SIT)

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Sprint Exercise Training (SIT)

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Physical activity will be conducted on cycle ergometers under supervision. Participants will exercise 3 days a week involving a 3-minute warm-up, followed up 4 repetitions (Week 1-2); 5 repetitions (Weeks 3-4); or 6 (Weeks 5-6) repetitions of 30 seconds at a maximal intensity with 2 minutes' rest in between. Exercise will conclude with a 2-minute cool-down.

Interventions

Endurance Exercise Training (END)

Physical activity will be conducted on cycle ergometers under supervision. Participants will exercise 5 days a week for 30 minutes (Week 1-2); 35 minutes (Weeks 3-4); or 40 minutes (Weeks 5-6) at 60% VO2 peak.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Sprint Exercise Training (SIT)

Physical activity will be conducted on cycle ergometers under supervision. Participants will exercise 3 days a week involving a 3-minute warm-up, followed up 4 repetitions (Week 1-2); 5 repetitions (Weeks 3-4); or 6 (Weeks 5-6) repetitions of 30 seconds at a maximal intensity with 2 minutes' rest in between. Exercise will conclude with a 2-minute cool-down.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Male, aged 18-70 years
• Body mass index (BMI) > 25 kg/m^2 (classified as overweight or obese)
• Sedentary (<100 minutes moderate physical activity per week)
• Approval for vigorous exercise via physical activity readiness questionnaire (PARQ+)

Exclusion Criteria

• Prescribed with glucose lowering medications
• Smoker
• Not cleared for physical activity

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 70 Years
• Eligible Sex: MALE
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

University of Guelph

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Jamie Burr

Dr. Jamie Burr, Director, Human Performance and Health Laboratory, Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor, PhD

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Jamie Burr, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Guelph

Graham Holloway, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Guelph

Locations

University of Guelph

Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Countries

Canada

References

Petrick HL, King TJ, Pignanelli C, Vanderlinde TE, Cohen JN, Holloway GP, Burr JF. Endurance and Sprint Training Improve Glycemia and V O2peak but only Frequent Endurance Benefits Blood Pressure and Lipidemia. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2021 Jun 1;53(6):1194-1205. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000002582.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 33315809 (View on PubMed)

Provided Documents

Document Type: Study Protocol

View Document

Document Type: Statistical Analysis Plan

View Document

Other Identifiers

17-08-008

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id