PMID 33401605

Research
All papers

Effects of Online Bodyweight High-Intensity Interval Training Intervention and Health Education on the Mental Health and Cognition of Sedentary Young Females

Zhang Y, Zhang B, Gan L, Ke L, Fu Y, Di Q, Ma X

Question

Does online bodyweight HIIT combined with health education improve physical activity behavior, mental health, and cognition more than online health education alone in sedentary young females?

Summary

A 6-week online program for sedentary young Chinese women compared bodyweight HIIT plus health education with health education alone. The HIIT group had full retention, increased moderate-to-vigorous activity, reduced anxiety and stress, and performed better on several cognitive measures and global cognition. The study is relevant to app-based bodyweight HIIT but was small, short, female-only, and relied on self-report for activity and sedentary behavior.

Methodology

  • Sedentary young Chinese females aged 18-30 who self-reported sedentary behavior, anxiety or stress, and intent to improve quality of life, health knowledge, and MVPA.
  • 70 participants.
  • Home bodyweight exercises including core, cardiopulmonary, and muscular-endurance movements such as plank, jumping jacks, and squats.
  • Work intervals: 30 seconds exercise.
  • Recovery: 30 seconds passive recovery.
  • Intensity: Target Borg CR10 RPE 6-8, vigorous but safe.
  • 1 hour: 5-minute warm-up, 35-minute HIIT block, 10-minute stretching/relaxation, 10-minute communication.
  • 2 HIIT sessions per week plus 1 health education session per week.
  • 6 weeks.
  • Single-blinded randomized online intervention
  • Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, Sedentary time, Anxiety and stress, and Cognitive function were tracked.

Outcomes

Retention

Retention was higher in the HIIT plus education group than the education-only group.

IG 100%; WG 78.38%.

Improved

MVPA

The HIIT group increased moderate-to-vigorous physical activity from pre to post.

Mean difference 940.61 MET-min/week; p<.001; 95% CI 576.67 to 1304.55.

Improved

Sedentary time

The education-only group reduced sedentary time more at post-test.

Mean difference -73.02 min/day; p=.038; 95% CI -141.90 to -4.14.

Mixed

Anxiety and stress

The HIIT group reduced anxiety and stress over 6 weeks.

Anxiety Mdiff -4.73, p=.002; stress Mdiff -5.09, p=.001.

Improved

Cognition

HIIT plus education improved verbal ability and favored processing speed, episodic memory, and global cognition.

Verbal ability p=.008, eta p2=.19; processing speed p=.050; episodic memory p=.048; global cognition post-test Mdiff 8.28, p=.003.

Improved

Safety

No adverse events were described in the the paper, but safety outcomes were not a central quantified endpoint.

Unclear

Insights

  • Online coached bodyweight HIIT can be feasible for sedentary young women.
  • A simple 30-second work / 30-second rest structure maps well to home HIIT.
  • Combining HIIT with brief health education and social communication may improve adherence and mental-health outcomes.
  • RPE can be used when heart-rate monitoring is unavailable, but it is less objective.

Limitations

  • Small sample and short 6-week intervention.
  • Female-only young Chinese sample.
  • No dose-response analysis.
  • No biomarkers, neuroimaging, objective physical activity, objective sedentary-time, body composition, or muscle measures.
  • No objective heart-rate monitoring; intensity relied on RPE.
  • COVID-era online context may affect generalizability.

Safety

  • No adverse events were described in the the paper.
  • Participants were screened for conditions affecting moderate-to-vigorous exercise.
  • Professional coaches corrected movement in real time.