title: Comparison of High-Intensity Interval Training and Moderate-to-Vigorous Continuous Training for Cardiometabolic Health and Exercise Enjoyment in Obese Young Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to compare the effects of 5-week high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-to-vigorous intensity continuous training (MVCT) on cardiometabolic health outcomes and enjoyment of exercise in obese young women.
  
  
  METHODS
  A randomized controlled experiment was conducted that involved thirty-one obese females (age range of 18-30) randomly assigned to either HIIT or MVCT five-week training programs. Participants in HIIT condition performed 20 min of repeated 8 s cycling interspersed with 12 s rest intervals, and those in MVCT condition cycled continuously for 40 min at 60-80% of peak oxygen consumption ([Formula: see text]O2peak), both for four days in a week. Outcomes such as [Formula: see text]O2peak, body composition estimated by bioimpedance analysis, blood lipids, and serum sexual hormones were measured at pre-and post-training. The scores of Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PAES) were collected during the intervention.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After training, [Formula: see text]O2peak increased significantly for both training programs (9.1% in HIIT and 10.3% in MVCT) (p = 0.010, η2 = 0.41). Although MVCT group had a significant reduction in total body weight (TBW, -1.8%, p = 0.034), fat mass (FM, - 4.7%, p = 0.002) and percentage body fat (PBF, -2.9%, p = 0.016), there were no significant between-group differences in the change of the pre- and post-measures of these variables. The HIIT group had a higher score on PAES than the MVCT group during the intervention. For both conditions, exercise training led to a decline in resting testosterone and estradiol levels, but had no significant effect on blood lipids.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Both HIIT and MVCT are effective in improving cardiorespiratory fitness and in reducing sexual hormones in obese young women; however, HIIT is a more enjoyable and time-efficient strategy. The mild-HIIT protocol seems to be useful for at least maintaining the body weight among sedentary individuals.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Education, University of Macau, Macao, China.
authors.forename: Zhaowei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Education, University of Macau, Macao, China.
authors.forename: Xitao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physical Education, Huzhou University, Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Shengyan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Education, University of Macau, Macao, China.
authors.forename: Lili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: School of Physical Education and Sports, Macao Polytechnic Institute, Macao, China.
authors.forename: Qingde
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: School of Physical Education and Sports, Macao Polytechnic Institute, Macao, China.
authors.forename: Jinlei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nie
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001823:Body Composition; D001835:Body Weight; D004032:Diet; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000097:blood; D000072696:High-Intensity Interval Training / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism*; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000523:psychology*; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones; D008055:Lipids