Obesity
Conditions
Keywords
Obesity, Central Obesity, High-Intensity Interval Training, Aerobic Exercise, Adults, Metabolic Syndrome
Brief summary
The aim of this study is to examine the therapeutic effectiveness of two different exercise frequencies of high-intensity interval training (HIIT; once versus thrice weekly, with matched weekly exercise volume) on improving cardiometabolic risk factors in centrally obese adults.
Detailed description
HIIT is an emerging, popular, promising, cost-effective, and time-efficient exercise modality for managing obesity. Although lower-frequency HIIT is favorable for intervention adherence, the optimal exercise frequency of HIIT for alleviating obesity is unknown. This study is a three-arm randomized controlled trial. Centrally obese adults will be randomly allocated to three groups: the usual care control, once and thrice-weekly HIIT groups. Led by research personnel, the usual care group will receive obesity-related health education. Led by athletic coaches, the HIIT intervention groups will receive 16 weeks of once or thrice weekly HIIT (with matched weekly exercise volume). Outcome measures of this study will be examined at baseline, 4 months (post-intervention), and 8 months (follow-up), by assessors blinded to group allocation.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALOnce-Weekly HIIT
Participants in this group will receive a 16-week intervention of HIIT once weekly supervised by certified athletic coaches. Participants will perform four 4-minute intervals at 85%-95% peak heart rate with a 3-minute active recovery between each 4-minute interval. Participants will repeat the 25-minute HIIT bout three times with 30-60 minutes break in between each 25-minute HIIT bout. Health information provided to the usual care control group will be made available to the participants in the HIIT groups.
BEHAVIORALThrice-Weekly HIIT
Participants in this group will receive a 16-week intervention of HIIT thrice weekly supervised by certified athletic coaches. Participants will perform four 4-minute intervals at 85%-95% peak heart rate with a 3-minute active recovery between each 4-minute interval. Health information provided to the usual care control group will be made available to the participants in the HIIT groups.
OTHERUsual Care
Participants in the usual care control group will receive health education delivered by research personnel. This program will consist of eight two-hour bi-weekly sessions covering major health issues relating to obesity including causes, prevalence, epidemiology, associated diseases, healthy diet, caloric restriction advice, physical activity, stress management, adequate sleep, as well as lifestyle counseling/consultation and goal-setting/record-keeping strategies for behavioral changes.
Sponsors
The University of Hong Kong
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Aged above 18 years * Ethnic Chinese * Overweight (BMI ≥23 for Asian) * Centrally obese according to IDF and NCEP with Asian-specific cut-off (waist circumference ≥90 cm for males; ≥80 cm for females) * Males and females
Exclusion criteria
* Medical and somatic conditions that prevent brisk walking * Chronic diseases affecting mobility and motor function (e.g., neurological disease, musculoskeletal disorder, spinal cord injury, autoimmune, arthritis, Parkinson's Disease) * Chronic diseases affecting cardiorespiratory and metabolic health (e.g., cancers, cardio-/cerebrovascular diseases, heart disease, diabetes mellitus, pneumonia, chronic pulmonary diseases, nephritis, nephrosis) * Signs of cardiac arrhythmia indicated by aberrant electrocardiography during incremental VO2max test * Regular moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise (≥150 min weekly) in the past 3 months, as screened by a specially designed questionnaire * Daily smoking habit * Excess alcohol consumption (daily ≥30g for men, ≥20g for women) in the past six months * Claustrophobia * Surgery, therapy or medication for obesity or weight loss in the past six months (e.g., gastric bypass, gastric band, sleeve gastrectomy, gastric reduction duodenal switch, and dietitian-prescribed dietary program)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Body Fat | Baseline and 4 months | Total body fat mass will be assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Body Fat | Baseline and 8 months | Total body fat mass will be assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) |
| Change in Abdominal Visceral Fat | Baseline and 4 and 8 months | Abdominal visceral fat will be assessed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) |
| Change in Abdominal Subcutaneous Fat | Baseline and 4 and 8 months | Abdominal subcutaneous fat will be assessed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) |
| Change in Body Mass Index | Baseline and 4 and 8 months | Weight and height will be assessed using a calibrated electronic digital weighing scale and stadiometer respectively |
| Change in Waist Circumference | Baseline and 4 and 8 months | Waist circumference will be assessed using an inelastic measuring tape to the nearest 0.1cm on bare skin |
| Change in Systolic Blood Pressure | Baseline and 4 and 8 months | Resting systolic blood pressure will be assessed |
| Change in Diastolic Blood Pressure | Baseline and 4 and 8 months | Resting diastolic blood pressure will be assessed |
| Change in Fasting Glucose | Baseline and 4 and 8 months | Fasting glucose will be analyzed from venous blood by an accredited medical laboratory |
| Change in Fasting Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL-C) | Baseline and 4 and 8 months | Fasting LDL-C will be analyzed from venous blood by an accredited medical laboratory |
| Change in Fasting High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (HDL-C) | Baseline and 4 and 8 months | Fasting HDL-C will be analyzed from venous blood by an accredited medical laboratory |
| Change in Fasting Triglycerides | Baseline and 4 and 8 months | Fasting triglycerides will be analyzed from venous blood by an accredited medical laboratory |
| Change in Proportion of Metabolic Syndrome Diagnosis | Baseline and 4 and 8 months | Metabolic syndrome diagnosis will be evaluated with waist circumference, triglycerides, HDL-C, blood pressure, and fasting glucose |
| Number of Adverse Events | Baseline and 4 and 8 months | Adverse events related or unrelated to training will be assessed |
| Change in Organ Fat | Baseline and 4 and 8 months | Organ fat will be assessed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) |
| Change in SF-12 Physical Component Summary Score | Baseline and 4 and 8 months | Physical health-related quality of life will be assessed using the Physical Component Summary Score of the 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) |
| Change in SF-12 Mental Component Summary Score | Baseline and 4 and 8 months | Mental health-related quality of life will be assessed using the Mental Component Summary Score of the 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) |
| Change in HADS-D Score | Baseline and 4 and 8 months | HADS-D score will be assessed using the Depression subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-D) |
| Change in PHQ-9 Score | Baseline and 4 and 8 months | PHQ-9 score will be assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) |
| Change in HADS-A Score | Baseline and 4 and 8 months | HADS-A score will be assessed using the Anxiety subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-A) |
| Change in GAD-7 Score | Baseline and 4 and 8 months | GAD-7 score will be assessed using the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) Questionnaire |
| Change in Fasting Total Cholesterol | Baseline and 4 and 8 months | Fasting total cholesterol will be analyzed from venous blood by an accredited medical laboratory |
Countries
Hong Kong
Outcome results
None listed