High-intensity Interval Exercise and Chocolate Milk on Blood Glucose and Cognition

The Effects of High-intensity Interval Exercise and Chocolate Milk on Glycemic Control and Cognitive Function in Children.

The purpose of this study is to determine the separate and combined effects of high-intensity interval exercise and chocolate milk on glycemic response, cognitive function, subjective appetite, and salivary cortisol among children aged 9-13 year old children.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Cognitive Function; Glycemic Response
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Exercise and Chocolate Milk; Other: Exercise and Water; Other: Sitting and Chocolate Milk; Other: Sitting and Water

Detailed Description

Twenty children 9-13 years of age will be recruited for this study. On four separate mornings, after a 10 hour overnight fast, each child will consume a standardized breakfast (including orange juice, a strawberry breakfast bar and a pear fruit cup) at home. Using a 2x2 factorial design, 2 hours after breakfast consumption, each participant will arrive in the lab (T=-20 min) and participate in high-intensity interval exercise or sit quietly for 20 min, followed by a treatment drink of chocolate milk or water (control) consumption in 10 min. During high-intensity interval exercise treatment, children will exercise on a cycle ergometer with a 3-min warm-up, 7 repeated bouts of 60-sec exercise at 90% of peak power output and 60-second recovery, and a 3-min cool down. Blood glucose will be measured via finger-prick at baseline (-20 min), 10, 30, 60, and 90 min. Cognitive functions will be measured using a battery of cognitive tests which assess verbal declarative memory, working memory, and executive functioning, and will be measured at baseline, 10. 30. 60, and 90 min. Subjective appetite and emotions will be measured using a 100-mm visual analogue scale (VAS) at baseline, 10, 30, 60, and 90 min. Salivary cortisol will be assessed from saliva samples collected using the passive drool method, and will be collected at baseline, 10 and 30 min.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 20
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Canada
  • Ontario
    • Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5B 2K3
      • School of Nutrition, Ryerson University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 9 years to 13 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• be between 9 and 13 years of age
• be healthy, and have been born at term
• not be taking any medications
• not have allergies to dairy or gluten.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Food sensitivities, allergies, or dietary restrictions
• Health, learning, emotional, or behavioural problems
• Receiving any medications
• Non-habitual breakfast eater (<5 days/week)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Exercise and Chocolate Milk; Children will exercise on a cycle ergometer with a 3-min warm-up, 7 repeated bouts of 60-sec exercise at 90% of peak power output and 60-second recovery, and a 3-min cool down. Children will then drink 240mL of chocolate milk	Other: Exercise and Chocolate Milk; High intensity interval exercise Chocolate Milk
Experimental: Exercise and Water; Children will exercise on a cycle ergometer with a 3-min warm-up, 7 repeated bouts of 60-sec exercise at 90% of peak power output and 60-second recovery, and a 3-min cool down. Children will then drink 240mL of water	Other: Exercise and Water; High intensity interval exercise Water
Experimental: Sitting and Chocolate Milk; Children will quietly sit for 20 minutes Children will then drink 240mL of chocolate milk	Other: Sitting and Chocolate Milk; Sitting Chocolate Milk
Experimental: Sitting and Water; Children will quietly sit for 20 minutes Children will then drink 240mL of water	Other: Sitting and Water; Sitting Water

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change from baseline Glycemic Response	Blood samples will be collected via finger-prick method to assess glycemic response (blood glucose, mmol/L)	baseline (-20 min), and 10, 30, 60, and 90 min post-drink consumption
Change from baseline verbal declarative memory	Cognitive function test of verbal declarative memory	baseline (-20 min), and 10, 30, 60, and 90 min post-drink consumption
Change from baseline working memory	The n-back test consists of 2 levels, 1-back and 2-back, where letters are presented on the screen one at a time. During the 1-back level, participants need to determine if the presented letter is the same as the one letter presented 1 before it or not (by selected 'match' or 'no match' on the side of the screen) and during 2-back need to do determine if it is the same letter as the one presented 2 letters prior.	baseline (-20 min), and 10, 30, 60, and 90 min post-drink consumption
Change from baseline executive functioning	The Stroop test consists of one word appearing on the screen written in either blue, red, yellow or green. There are 24 congruent trials where the presented word is the name of the colour it is written it (i.e. 'red' appearing in the colour red), 24 incongruent trials where the word written is a colour word different from the one it is written in (i.e. 'red' appearing in the colour green), and 10 neutral trials where non-colour words appear (i.e. 'tape' appearing in yellow). The participant is asked to tap the corresponding colour that the word is written in as quickly as possible.	baseline (-20 min), and 10, 30, 60, and 90 min post-drink consumption

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change from baseline salivary cortisol response	Saliva samples will be collected via passive drool method to assess salivary cortisol response (ug/dL)	baseline (-20 min), and 10 and 30 min post-drink consumption
Change form baseline Subjective Appetite	100-mm Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) will be used to assess appetite	baseline (-20 min), and 10, 30, 60, and 90 min post-drink consumption
Change from baseline aggression	100-mm Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) will be used to assess aggression	baseline (-20 min), and 10, 30, 60, and 90 min post-drink consumption
Change from baseline anger	100-mm Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) will be used to assess anger	baseline (-20 min), and 10, 30, 60, and 90 min post-drink consumption
Change from baseline excitement	100-mm Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) will be used to assess excitement	baseline (-20 min), and 10, 30, 60, and 90 min post-drink consumption
Change from baseline disappointment	100-mm Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) will be used to assess disappointment	baseline (-20 min), and 10, 30, 60, and 90 min post-drink consumption
Change from baseline happiness	100-mm Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) will be used to assess happiness	baseline (-20 min), and 10, 30, 60, and 90 min post-drink consumption
Change from baseline upset	100-mm Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) will be used to assess upset	baseline (-20 min), and 10, 30, 60, and 90 min post-drink consumption
Change form baseline frustration	100-mm Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) will be used to assess frustration	baseline (-20 min), and 10, 30, 60, and 90 min post-drink consumption
Change from baseline alertness	100-mm Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) will be used to assess alertness	baseline (-20 min), and 10, 30, 60, and 90 min post-drink consumption
Change from baseline sadness	100-mm Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) will be used to assess sadness	baseline (-20 min), and 10, 30, 60, and 90 min post-drink consumption
Change from baseline tension	100-mm Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) will be used to assess tension	baseline (-20 min), and 10, 30, 60, and 90 min post-drink consumption
Change from baseline exhaustion	100-mm Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) will be used to assess exhaustion	baseline (-20 min), and 10, 30, 60, and 90 min post-drink consumption
Change from baseline sleepiness	100-mm Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) will be used to assess sleepiness	baseline (-20 min), and 10, 30, 60, and 90 min post-drink consumption

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Ryerson University
• Investigators: Study Director: Nick Bellissimo, PHD, School of Nutrition, Ryerson University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Kucab M, Bellissimo N, Prusky C, Brett NR, Totosy de Zepetnek JO. Effects of a high-intensity interval training session and chocolate milk on appetite and cognitive performance in youth aged 9-13 years. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2021 Jan;75(1):172-179. doi: 10.1038/s41430-020-00718-z. Epub 2020 Aug 19.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 8, 2017
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 31, 2017
• Study Completion (Actual): May 31, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 29, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 6, 2017
• First Posted (Actual): October 9, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 10, 2018
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 9, 2018
• Last Verified: August 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Exercise; Child; Cortisol; Cognition; Emotions; Appetite; Blood glucose; Chocolate milk
• Other Study ID Numbers: REB2017- 088

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No