Efficacy of Movement Breaks in Real-World Settings

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT05574426

Enrollment

Registered

2022-10-10

Start date

2022-10-01

Completion date

2023-12-05

Last updated

2025-03-21

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Healthy

Keywords

Exercise Snack, Movement Break, Sedentary Time, Lifestyle Exercise, Physical Activity Breaks, VILPA

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of performing exercise snacks (short movement breaks throughout the day) on various measures of cardiometabolic health.

Detailed description

After being informed about the study and potential risks, all eligible participants who have provided consent will undergo a baseline visit to assess pre-intervention basic anthropometrics, cardiorespiratory fitness, and provide a blood sample. Participants will then be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to one of two groups: 1) Mobility movement breaks (stretching or range of motion exercises); or 2) Cardiovascular movement breaks (designed to raise heart rate). Both groups will be encouraged to perform 3-4 daily movement breaks on at least 3 days of the week with support from an online platform and app that provides video instructions and reminders to complete the movement breaks. After 12 weeks, participants will be asked to return to the lab for the same testing performed at baseline.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALMovement Breaks

Participants will be asked to perform 30-60 second movement breaks 3-4 times per day on at least 3 days per week.

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Masking description

Outcome assessors will not be aware of group allocation and statistics performed on data with group identity blinded.

Intervention model description

Participants will be randomized (1:1 allocation ratio) into Mobility or Cardiovascular movement break groups for 12-weeks. Both groups will perform 3-4 movement breaks on at least 3 days of the week.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

40 Years to 64 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

1. Physically inactive (performing \<150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous intensity aerobic exercise per week, assessed by pre-screening Get Active Questionnaire); 2. Body Mass Index: 18.5-30.0 kg/m2; 3. Not currently diagnosed with or being treated for cardiometabolic disease (e.g., coronary artery disease, diabetes); 4. Not a current smoker; 5. Cleared to engage in physical activity using the Get Active Questionnaire and, if applicable, consultation with a Qualified Exercise Professional; 6. Access to a computer, tablet or smartphone for intervention delivery and tracking

Exclusion criteria

1. Chronic health condition preventing participation in exercise; 2. Lack of access to internet connection

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Change From Baseline in Cardiorespiratory Fitness at 12 Weeks	Baseline and Week 12	Cardiorespiratory fitness will be assessed as the highest 30-s average from a laboratory-based graded VO2peak test on a cycle ergometer.

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Change From Baseline in Plasma Glucose	Baseline and 12 weeks	A fasted venous blood sample will be obtained and glucose measured by biochemical assay.
Change From Baseline in Insulin Resistance	Baseline and 12 weeks	A fasted venous blood sample will be obtained and insulin resistance estimated by homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) score
Change From Baseline in Inflammatory Cytokines	Baseline and 12 weeks	A fasted venous blood sample will be obtained and inflammatory cytokines measured by multiplex assay
Change From Baseline in Body Mass	Baseline and 12 weeks	Body mass will be measured by weigh scale
Change From Baseline in Plasma Insulin	Baseline and 12 weeks	A fasted venous blood sample will be obtained and insulin measured by commercial assay.
Device-Measured Adherence to Movement Breaks	Week 2 and week 11	Participants will wear accelerometers to assess adherence near the beginning and the end of the intervention.
Self-Reported Adherence to Movement Breaks	Once per week for 12 weeks	Participants will be sent weekly surveys asking them to recall the total number of movement breaks performed that week.
Movement Break Enjoyment Assessed by the Exercise Enjoyment Scale (EES)	Immediately following each movement break for entire 12-week intervention	The EES is a validated, single-item 7-point scale to assess exercise enjoyment. Possible scores range from 1 (not at all) to 7 (extremely).
Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Following Movement Breaks	Immediately following each movement break for entire 12-week intervention	A 10 point RPE scale will be used to assess perceived exertion ranging from 0 (rest) to 10 (maximal).
Change From Baseline in Waist Circumference	Baseline and 12 weeks	Waist circumference (in centimetres) will be measured using a measurement tape.

Countries

Canada

Participant flow

Recruitment details

Online recruitment primarily through use of third-party service.

Pre-assignment details

77 participants were included in the intention-to-treat analyses

Participants by arm

Arm	Count
Cardiovascular Movement Breaks Participants were instructed to perform 3-4 exercise snacks (30-60s bursts of exercise) on at least 3 days of the week. The exercises prescribed in this arm were designed to increase heart rate.	38
Mobility Movement Breaks Participants were instructed to perform 3-4 mobility snacks (30-60s of mobility exercises or stretching) on at least 3 days of the week. The exercises prescribed in this arm were not designed to increase heart rate.	39
Total	77

Baseline characteristics

Characteristic	Total	Cardiovascular Movement Breaks	Mobility Movement Breaks
Age, Continuous	54 Years STANDARD_DEVIATION 6	54 Years STANDARD_DEVIATION 6	53 Years STANDARD_DEVIATION 7
Race and Ethnicity Not Collected	0 Participants	—	—
Sex: Female, Male Female	56 Participants	27 Participants	29 Participants
Sex: Female, Male Male	21 Participants	11 Participants	10 Participants
VO2peak	24.5 ml/kg/min STANDARD_DEVIATION 4.4	24.4 ml/kg/min STANDARD_DEVIATION 4.3	24.6 ml/kg/min STANDARD_DEVIATION 4.5

Adverse events

Event type	EG000 affected / at risk	EG001 affected / at risk
deaths Total, all-cause mortality	0 / 38	0 / 39
other Total, other adverse events	0 / 38	0 / 39
serious Total, serious adverse events	0 / 38	0 / 39

Outcome results

Primary

Change From Baseline in Cardiorespiratory Fitness at 12 Weeks

Cardiorespiratory fitness will be assessed as the highest 30-s average from a laboratory-based graded VO2peak test on a cycle ergometer.

Time frame: Baseline and Week 12

Population: Intention-to-treat

Arm	Measure	Value (MEAN)
Cardiovascular Movement Breaks	Change From Baseline in Cardiorespiratory Fitness at 12 Weeks	-0.6 ml/kg/min
Mobility Movement Breaks	Change From Baseline in Cardiorespiratory Fitness at 12 Weeks	-1.0 ml/kg/min

Secondary