Effect of periodized high intensity interval training (HIIT) on body composition and attitudes towards hunger in active men and women

BACKGROUND

High intensity interval training (HIIT) increases maximal oxygen uptake similar to aerobic exercise. However, changes in body composition are equivocal in response to HIIT. We examined changes in body composition and dietary restraint in response to 20 sessions of HIIT varying in structure.

METHODS

Thirty nine active men and women (age and VO2max=22.5±4.4 years and 40.1±5.6 mL/kg/min) were randomized to one of three periodized HIIT regimes performed on a cycle ergometer. Before and after training, body composition was assessed using skinfolds (SKF), circumference measures, and Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) following standardized procedures. Hunger, restraint, and disinhibition were also measured using the 3-Factor Eating Questionnaire and Power of Food Survey. Control participants (N.=32, age and VO2max=25.6±4.4 years and 40.6±4.9 mL/kg/min) matched for age and fitness level underwent all testing but did not complete HIIT.

RESULTS

There was no change (P>0.05) in body mass, circumferences, or BIA-derived body fat in response to HIIT. However, SKF-derived body fat declined (P=0.04) with HIIT, and gender x time (P=0.03) and gender x time x regimen interactions (P=0.04) were shown in that women but not men exhibited significant reductions in body fat. Hunger was reduced from baseline to post-training (P=0.028), but this response was not different in response to HIIT compared to controls.

CONCLUSIONS

Twenty sessions of low-volume HIIT reduce body fat in women but not men, but do not alter perceptions of hunger.

Change in maximal fat oxidation in response to different regimes of periodized high-intensity interval training (HIIT)

PURPOSE

Increased capacity for fat oxidation (FatOx) is demonstrated in response to chronic endurance training as well as high-intensity interval training (HIIT). This study examined changes in maximal fat oxidation (MFO) in response to 20 sessions of periodized HIIT in an attempt to identify if various regimes of HIIT similarly augment capacity for FatOx.

METHODS

Thirty-nine habitually active men and women (mean age and VO₂max = 22.5 ± 4.4 year and 40.0 ± 5.6 mL/kg/min) completed training and 32 men and women with similar physical activity and fitness level served as non-exercising controls (CON). Training consisted of ten sessions of progressive low-volume HIIT on the cycle ergometer after which participants completed an additional ten sessions of sprint interval training (SIT), high-volume HIIT, or periodized HIIT, whose assignment was randomized. Before and throughout training, MFO, FatOx, and carbohydrate oxidation (CHOOx) were assessed during progressive cycling to exhaustion.

RESULTS

Compared to CON, there was no effect of HIIT on MFO (p = 0.11). Small increases (p = 0.03) in FatOx were evident in response to HIIT leading to an additional 4.3 g of fat oxidized, although this value may not be clinically meaningful.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results refute the widely reported increases in capacity for FatOx demonstrated with HIIT, which is likely due to marked day-to-day variability in determinations of MFO and exercise fat oxidation as well as the heterogeneity of our sample.