Impact of Sprint Stair Climbing "Snacks" on Markers of Metabolism and Vascular Function

Salivary Insulin Profiles Throughout the Day in Healthy Humans

Prolonged sitting has been shown to impair metabolism and vascular function. The overall purpose of this study is to determine if breaking up prolonged (9 hours) of sitting with brief (~20 second) stair climbing exercise "snacks" can improve markers of metabolic control and vascular health in healthy young male participants and in males or females with overweight/obesity who are at risk of insulin resistance. An additional purpose is to determine if saliva insulin can be used as a valid indicator of blood insulin when measured throughout the day in sedentary and active conditions and when diets with different amounts of carbohydrates are consumed.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Physical Activity; Diet Modification
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: High-Carbohydrate Sedentary; Behavioral: High-Carbohydrate Active; Behavioral: Low-carbohydrate Sedentary

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 23
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Canada
  • British Columbia
    • Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, V1V 3G1
      • University of British Columbia Okanagan

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Lean Group Inclusion Criteria:

Non-smoking

Lean Group Exclusion Criteria:

Diagnosed with diabetes or prediabetes (fasting blood sugar more than 6.0 mmol/l) or any other chronic condition that may impact glucose or insulin levels.

BMI is over 25 kg/m2 Take medications which may affect glucose and insulin levels Allergic to eggs. Smoker Competitive or serious endurance athlete.

Overweight/Obese Group Inclusion Criteria:

Elevated waist circumference (>102 cm for male and >88 cm for female)

Overweight/Obese Group Exclusion Criteria:

Diagnosed with diabetes (fasting blood sugar more than 7.0 mmol/l) Take medications which may affect glucose and insulin levels Allergic to eggs. Smoker Competitive or serious endurance athlete.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: High-Carbohydrate Sedentary; Participants will remain seated for 9 hours (except for using the restroom) while consuming a high-carbohydrate diet (3 meals)	Behavioral: High-Carbohydrate Sedentary; Three high-carbohydrate meals will be consumed (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) at ~3 hour intervals while participants remain in a seated position for the entire 9 hour intervention period.
Experimental: High-Carbohydrate Active; Participants will remain seated for 9 hours (except for using the restroom) while consuming a high-carbohydrate diet (3 meals) but will complete 8 stair climbing sprint "snacks" once per hour involving ascending 3 flights of stairs at a vigorous pace (~20 seconds each).	Behavioral: High-Carbohydrate Active; Three high-carbohydrate meals will be consumed (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) at ~3 hour intervals while participants remain in a seated position for the entire 9 hour intervention period except that once every hour they will ascend three flights of stairs vigorously (stair climbing sprint "snack") for a total of 8 active breaks.
Active Comparator: Low-Carbohydrate Sedentary; Participants will remain seated for 9 hours (except for using the restroom) while consuming a low-carbohydrate diet (3 meals)	Behavioral: Low-carbohydrate Sedentary; Three low-carbohydrate meals will be consumed (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) at ~3 hour intervals while participants remain in a seated position for the entire 9 hour intervention period. This condition will provide a condition where the blood glucose and insulin responses are relatively low and stable throughout the day.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Plasma insulin area under the curve	The plasma insulin concentration measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay area under the curve will be measured using the trapezoidal rule.	Measured across 9 hours of each intervention day

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Saliva insulin area under the curve	The saliva insulin concentration measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay area under the curve will be measured using the trapezoidal rule.	Measured across 9 hours of each intervention day
Plasma glucose area under the curve	The plasma glucose concentration measured by hexokinase method area under the curve will be measured using the trapezoidal rule.	Measured across 9 hours of each intervention day
Plasma triglyceride area under the curve	The plasma triglyceride concentration measured by biochemical assay area under the curve will be measured using the trapezoidal rule.	Measured across 9 hours of each intervention day
Plasma non-esterified fatty acids area under the curve	The plasma non-esterified fatty acid concentration measured by biochemical assay area under the curve will be measured using the trapezoidal rule.	Measured across 9 hours of each intervention day
Femoral artery flow-mediated dilation	Flow-mediated dilation of femoral artery measured by vascular ultrasound	Measured in the morning (time 0 hours) and afternoon (time 8.5 hours) each intervention day
Cerebrovascular function	Cerebrovascular function measured by transcranial doppler ultrasound	Measured in the morning (time 0.5 hours) and afternoon (time 6 hours) each intervention day
Cognitive function	Cognitive function measured by Computerized Neurocognitive Assessment Software (CNS) Vital Signs test battery	Measured in the morning (time 0.5 hours) and afternoon (time 6 hours) each intervention day

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of British Columbia
• Collaborators: Mitacs; CoreHealth Technologies Inc.

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Caldwell HG, Coombs GB, Rafiei H, Ainslie PN, Little JP. Hourly staircase sprinting exercise "snacks" improve femoral artery shear patterns but not flow-mediated dilation or cerebrovascular regulation: a pilot study. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2021 May;46(5):521-529. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2020-0562. Epub 2020 Nov 26.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 1, 2017
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 30, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): August 30, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 11, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 11, 2017
• First Posted (Actual): December 15, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 25, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 24, 2019
• Last Verified: September 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: H17-01747

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED
• IPD Plan Description: We will share individual patient data (de-identified) with researchers upon request.

Drug and device information, study documents

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