PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Andrea D'Amuri
AU  - Juana Maria Sanz
AU  - Eleonora Capatti
AU  - Francesca Di Vece
AU  - Filippo Vaccari
AU  - Stefano Lazzer
AU  - Giovanni Zuliani
AU  - Edoardo Dalla Nora
AU  - Angelina Passaro
TI  - Effectiveness of high-intensity interval training for weight loss in adults with obesity: a randomised controlled non-inferiority trial
AID  - 10.1136/bmjsem-2020-001021
DP  - 2021 Jul 01
TA  - BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine
PG  - e001021
VI  - 7
IP  - 3
4099  - http://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/7/3/e001021.short
4100  - http://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/7/3/e001021.full
SO  - BMJ OPEN SP EX MED2021 Jul 01; 7
AB  - Introduction Obesity treatment guidelines suggest moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT), but the patient’s compliance to this indication remains low. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a time sparing training mode whose metabolic effects are not clear. This study aimed to determine whether a 12-week HIIT was more effective than MICT for weight loss in obese adults.Methods 44 obese subjects were randomised and trained with isoenergetic treadmill exercises for 12 weeks: MICT (60% of maximal oxygen peak, VO2peak) or HIIT (3–7 repetition of 3 min 100% of VO2peak interspersed by 1.5 min 50% of VO2peak). The primary outcome was a change in body weight; the secondary outcomes were changes in body composition, blood pressure, lipid profile, glycaemia, insulin and VO2peak.Results 32 subjects (53% male, mean age: 38.5 years, mean body mass index: 35.5 kg/m2) completed the trial. MICT and HIIT showed comparable effect within groups in weight loss (−6.0 kg (−9.0 kg to −3.0 kg) vs −5.7 kg (−8.3 kg to −3.1 kg)), changes in fat mass (−2.9% (−4.4% to −1.4%) vs −3.6% (−5.9% to −1.2%)), fat free mass (−5.3% (−7.8% to −2.8%) vs −5.5% (−8.3% to −2.6%)), diastolic blood pressure (−5.5 mm Hg (−10.6 mm Hg to −0.3 mm Hg) vs −5.8 mm Hg (−11.3 mm Hg to −0.3 mm Hg)) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (−16.4 mg/dL (−30.8 mg/dL to −2.0 mg/dL) vs −14.7 mg/dL (−25.6 mg/dL to −3.8 mg/dL)). There was a significant change between groups in VO2peak (HIIT: +461.6 mL (329.3‒593.8 mL); MICT: +170.5 mL (86.7–254.4 mL); p<0001) and duration of sessions (HIIT: 35.0 min (31.7 ‒35.6 min); MICT: 46.5 min (40.2‒48.3 min); p<0.001). No significant changes in systolic blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, glycaemia or plasma insulin were observed.Conclusions In healthy adults with obesity, HIIT compared with MICT induced similar weight loss and cardiovascular risk factors improvement but resulted in a larger increase in cardiorespiratory fitness over a shorter period.Data are available upon reasonable request.