PMID 39019997

Research
All papers

Comparative effects of high-intensity interval training and moderate-intensity continuous training on weight and metabolic health in college students with obesity

Song X, Cui X, Su W, Shang X, Tao M, Wang J, Liu C, Sun Y, Yun H

Question

How do energy-matched HIIT and moderate-intensity continuous training compare for body composition and metabolic health in male and female college students with obesity?

Summary

In college students with obesity, 8 weeks of supervised treadmill HIIT and energy-matched moderate continuous training both improved weight, body composition, and several metabolic markers. HIIT produced larger reductions in body fat percentage and triglycerides, with some sex-specific differences in LDL-C and ALT. The trial was small, had no non-exercise control group, and diet was not rigorously measured.

Methodology

  • Forty full-time college students with obesity completed the study: male HIIT n=10, female HIIT n=10, male MICT n=10, female MICT n=10. Participants were 18-25 years old with BMI at least 25, stable recent weight, and no major metabolic, cardiovascular, orthopedic, infectious, or hormonal disease.
  • 40 participants.
  • Treadmill running/walking.
  • Work intervals: 4 min.
  • Recovery: 3 min.
  • Intensity: HIIT 85-90% HRmax; recovery 50-60% HRmax; MICT 60-70% HRmax.
  • HIIT training duration 28 min plus warm-up/cooldown; MICT 35 min plus warm-up/cooldown.
  • 3.
  • 8 weeks.
  • Randomized 8-week exercise intervention
  • Weight, BMI, body fat percentage, waist circumference, hip circumference, waist-to-hip ..., Blood lipids including TC, TG, LDL-C, HDL-C, and ALT and uric acid were tracked.

Outcomes

Body weight

Weight decreased significantly in all groups: female MICT -4.89 +/- 1.82 kg, male MICT -5.45 +/- 2.18 kg, female HIIT -5.75 +/- 2.01 kg, male HIIT -6.92 +/- 1.08 kg; all p<.001 within group.

p<.001

Improved

Body fat percentage

Body fat percentage decreased more in HIIT: male HIIT -23.71%, female HIIT -26.76%, male MICT -9.81%, female MICT -7.16%; post-training between-protocol differences were significant.

Improved

Triglycerides

Triglycerides were lower after HIIT than MICT: female HIIT 18.91% lower and male HIIT 16.39% lower than corresponding MICT groups.

Improved

LDL cholesterol

LDL-C post-training differed between training protocols in males only, with male HIIT 22.13% lower than male MICT.

Improved

HDL cholesterol

HDL-C improved in both training protocols without a clear between-group difference.

Improved

Insights

  • Heart-rate monitored 4 x 4 HIIT can be a time-efficient alternative to longer moderate treadmill training for young adults with obesity.
  • Metabolic claims should stay specific: strongest comparative signals were body fat percentage and triglycerides.
  • Because diet was not measured rigorously, weight-loss claims should avoid attributing all change solely to exercise intensity.

Limitations

  • Small subgroups of 10 participants each.
  • No non-exercise control group.
  • Diet was not formally tracked with food records or recalls.
  • HRmax may have changed over training.
  • Some internal inconsistency in reporting of uric acid and selected p-value thresholds.

Safety

  • No adverse events were reported.
  • Six recruited participants did not complete the intervention and four had missing data; reasons were not described.