Exercise Snacking and Cardiometabolic Health
Influence of Exercise Snacking on Cardiometabolic Health, Physical Activity, and Psychological Well-Being
Regular physical activity is associated with numerous health benefits, yet many young adults do not achieve recommended levels of physical activity. Exercise snacking, which involves performing brief bouts of physical activity throughout the day, may provide a practical alternative to traditional exercise programs by making physical activity easier to incorporate into daily routines.
This randomized controlled trial will evaluate whether a 12-week exercise snacking intervention improves physical activity levels, aerobic fitness, cardiometabolic health, and psychological well-being in insufficiently active young adults. Participants will be randomly assigned to either an exercise snacking intervention or a usual behavior control group. Assessments will be completed at baseline, after the 12-week intervention, and after an additional 12-week follow-up period to determine whether any changes are maintained after the intervention ends.
The study will measure physical activity using wearable activity monitors and assess aerobic fitness, body composition, blood pressure, blood lipids, glucose, exercise motivation, affective responses to exercise, and mental well-being. The findings will help determine whether exercise snacking is an effective and sustainable strategy for improving health in young adults and may inform future physical activity recommendations and interventions
調査の概要
状態
状態
条件
条件
介入・治療
介入・治療
詳細な説明
Regular physical activity reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and other chronic health conditions. Despite these well-established benefits, many young adults do not achieve recommended levels of physical activity. Commonly reported barriers include limited time, competing academic or work demands, and difficulty maintaining structured exercise programs.
Exercise snacking, defined as accumulating multiple brief bouts of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity throughout the day, has emerged as a potential strategy for increasing physical activity while minimizing many of the barriers associated with traditional exercise programs. Although short bouts of physical activity have demonstrated favorable acute physiological effects, relatively few randomized controlled trials have evaluated whether exercise snacking produces sustained improvements in objectively measured physical activity, physical fitness, cardiometabolic health, and psychological outcomes in free-living young adults.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether a 12-week exercise snacking intervention improves physical activity behavior, aerobic fitness, cardiometabolic health, exercise motivation, affective responses to physical activity, and psychological well-being compared with a usual behavior control group. Participants will be randomly assigned to either an exercise snacking intervention or a control condition. Following completion of the intervention, participants will be observed for an additional 12 weeks to evaluate the maintenance of behavioral and physiological changes after structured support is withdrawn.
The primary objectives are to determine whether exercise snacking increases objectively measured physical activity and improves aerobic fitness. Secondary objectives are to evaluate changes in body composition, blood pressure, fasting cardiometabolic biomarkers, exercise motivation, affective responses to exercise, and psychological well-being. Exploratory analyses will examine whether changes in motivation and affective responses are associated with long-term maintenance of physical activity during the follow-up period.
This study will contribute to the growing evidence regarding practical, scalable approaches for increasing physical activity among young adults and may help inform future lifestyle interventions and public health recommendations aimed at promoting long-term engagement in regular physical activity
研究の種類
研究の種類
入学 (推定)
入学
段階
段階
- 適用できない
連絡先と場所
研究連絡先
研究連絡先
- 名前:Gregory Ruegsegger, PhD
- 電話番号:715-425-4945
- メール:gregory.ruegsegger@uwrf.edu
研究連絡先のバックアップ
- 名前:Ricky Lopez, MS
- 電話番号:715-425-4138
- メール:ricky.lopez@uwrf.edu
研究場所
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Wisconsin
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River Falls、Wisconsin、アメリカ、54022
- 募集
- University of Wisconsin-River Falls
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コンタクト:
- Gregory Ruegsegger, PhD
- 電話番号:715-425-4945
- メール:gregory.ruegsegger@uwrf.edu
-
コンタクト:
- Ricky Lopez, MS
- 電話番号:715-425-4138
- メール:ricky.lopez@uwrf.edu
-
主任研究者:
- Gregory Ruegsegger, PhD
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-
参加基準
適格基準
適格基準
就学可能な年齢
- 大人
健康ボランティアの受け入れ
説明
Inclusion Criteria:
- Age 18-60 years.
- Body mass index (BMI) ≥18.5 kg/m².
- Insufficiently physically active, defined as generally not meeting current physical activity guidelines for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.
- Able to safely participate in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity as determined by study screening procedures, including completion of the Physical - Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q+) and health history review.
- Willing and able to provide written informed consent.
- Willing to complete all study visits, wear activity monitors, and comply with study procedures.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Known cardiovascular, pulmonary, metabolic, neurological, orthopedic, or other medical conditions that would make participation in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity unsafe.
- Resting heart rate >100 beats/minute at screening.
- Resting blood pressure >160/100 mmHg at screening.
- Clinically significant electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities identified during screening that require medical evaluation.
- Current participation in regular structured physical activity that meets or exceeds recommended physical activity guidelines.
- Physical limitations or injuries that preclude safe participation in the intervention or fitness testing.
- Moderate-to-severe psychological distress or other mental health concerns identified during screening that require referral or would make study participation inappropriate.
- Pregnancy or any other condition judged by the investigators to make participation unsafe or interfere with completion of study procedures.
研究計画
研究はどのように設計されていますか?
デザインの詳細
- 主な目的:基礎科学
- 割り当て:ランダム化
- 介入モデル:並列代入
- マスキング:なし(オープンラベル)
アーム数
武器と介入
参加者グループ / アーム参加者グループ / アーム |
介入・治療介入・治療 |
|---|---|
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実験的:Exercise Snacking
Participants assigned to the exercise snacking group will complete a 12-week intervention consisting of multiple brief bouts (approximately 1-3 minutes each) of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity performed throughout the day.
Participants will receive written instructions, examples of appropriate exercise snacks, and periodic check-ins to support adherence.
The intervention is designed to increase daily physical activity by integrating short bouts of exercise into normal daily routines.
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Participants assigned to the intervention group will complete multiple brief bouts of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity throughout each day for 12 weeks.
Each exercise snack will typically last approximately 1-3 minutes and may include activities such as stair climbing, brisk walking, repeated sit-to-stands, body-weight squats, or other moderate-to-vigorous activities that can be incorporated into daily routines.
Participants will receive standardized written instructions, examples of exercise snacks, and periodic follow-up visits to monitor adherence and reinforce study procedures.
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介入なし:Usual Behavior Control
Participants assigned to the control group will continue their usual daily activities for 12 weeks and will not receive instruction regarding exercise snacking or any structured physical activity program during the intervention period.
They will complete the same outcome assessments as participants in the intervention group.
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この研究は何を測定していますか?
主要な結果の測定
主要な結果の測定
結果測定 |
メジャーの説明 |
時間枠 |
|---|---|---|
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Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity
時間枠:Baseline, Week 12, and Week 24
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Average daily minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity measured objectively using an accelerometer worn for seven consecutive days.
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Baseline, Week 12, and Week 24
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二次結果の測定
二次結果の測定
結果測定 |
メジャーの説明 |
時間枠 |
|---|---|---|
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Body Fat Percentage
時間枠:Baseline, Week 12, Week 24
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Body composition measured using air displacement plethysmography (BodPod).
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Baseline, Week 12, Week 24
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Aerobic Fitness
時間枠:Baseline, Week 12, and Week 24
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Aerobic fitness assessed during a submaximal cycle ergometer exercise test with respiratory gas analysis using a metabolic measurement system.
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Baseline, Week 12, and Week 24
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Fasting Blood Glucose
時間枠:Baseline, Week 12, Week 24
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Capillary fasting glucose measured using the Cholestech LDX analyzer.
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Baseline, Week 12, Week 24
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Blood Lipid Profile
時間枠:Baseline, Week 12, Week 24
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Total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides measured from fasting capillary blood samples.
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Baseline, Week 12, Week 24
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Exercise Motivation
時間枠:Baseline, Week 12, Week 24
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Exercise motivation will be assessed using the 24-item Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire-3 (BREQ-3).
The questionnaire produces six subscale scores: amotivation, external regulation, introjected regulation, identified regulation, integrated regulation, and intrinsic regulation.
Each subscale is calculated as the mean of four items and ranges from 0 to 4. Higher scores indicate a greater degree of the corresponding type of exercise motivation; therefore, higher scores do not uniformly represent a better or worse outcome.
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Baseline, Week 12, Week 24
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Psychological Well-Being
時間枠:Baseline, Week 12, Week 24
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Psychological well-being will be assessed using the World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5).
The five items are summed to produce a raw total score ranging from 0 to 25.
Higher scores indicate better psychological well-being.
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Baseline, Week 12, Week 24
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Depressive Symptoms
時間枠:Baseline, Week 12, Week 24
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Depressive symptoms will be assessed using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9).
Items are summed to produce a total score ranging from 0 to 27.
Higher scores indicate more severe depressive symptoms and therefore a worse outcome.
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Baseline, Week 12, Week 24
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Anxiety Symptoms
時間枠:Baseline, Week 12, Week 24
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Anxiety symptoms will be assessed using the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7).
Items are summed to produce a total score ranging from 0 to 21.
Higher scores indicate more severe anxiety symptoms and therefore a worse outcome.
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Baseline, Week 12, Week 24
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Perceived Stress
時間枠:Baseline, Week 12, Week 24
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Perceived stress will be assessed using the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10).
Items are summed after reverse-scoring the positively stated items, producing a total score ranging from 0 to 40.
Higher scores indicate greater perceived stress and therefore a worse outcome.
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Baseline, Week 12, Week 24
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その他の成果指標
その他の成果指標
結果測定 |
メジャーの説明 |
時間枠 |
|---|---|---|
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Everyday Cognitive Failures
時間枠:Baseline, Week 12, Week 24
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Everyday cognitive failures will be assessed using the 25-item Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ).
Items are summed to produce a total score ranging from 0 to 100.
Higher scores indicate a greater frequency of everyday cognitive failures and therefore a worse outcome.
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Baseline, Week 12, Week 24
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Exercise-Related Affective Valence
時間枠:Baseline, Week 12, Week 24
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Exercise-related affective valence will be assessed using the single-item Feeling Scale.
Responses range from -5 ("very bad") to +5 ("very good"), with 0 representing "neutral."
Higher scores indicate more positive affective valence and therefore a better outcome.
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Baseline, Week 12, Week 24
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Academic engagement (UWES-S)
時間枠:Baseline, Week 12, Week 24
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Academic engagement will be assessed using the 9-item Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students (UWES-S-9), which measures vigor, dedication, and absorption in academic activities.
Each item is scored from 0 ("never") to 6 ("always/every day").
Higher scores indicate greater academic engagement and therefore a better outcome.
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Baseline, Week 12, Week 24
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協力者と研究者
捜査官
捜査官
- 主任研究者:Gregory Ruegsegger, PhD、University of Wisconsin, River Falls
出版物と役立つリンク
一般刊行物
- Yin M, Deng S, Chen Z, Zhang B, Zheng H, Bai M, Li H, Zhang X, Deng J, Liu Q, Little JP, Li Y. Exercise snacks are a time-efficient alternative to moderate-intensity continuous training for improving cardiorespiratory fitness but not maximal fat oxidation in inactive adults: a randomized controlled trial. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2024 Jul 1;49(7):920-932. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2023-0593. Epub 2024 Apr 3.
- Jenkins EM, Nairn LN, Skelly LE, Little JP, Gibala MJ. Do stair climbing exercise "snacks" improve cardiorespiratory fitness? Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2019 Jun;44(6):681-684. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2018-0675. Epub 2019 Jan 16.
- Wang T, Laher I, Li S. Exercise snacks and physical fitness in sedentary populations. Sports Med Health Sci. 2024 Feb 27;7(1):1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.smhs.2024.02.006. eCollection 2025 Jan.
- Wan KW, Dai ZH, Wong PS, Huang WY, Lei EF, Little JP, Lin FC, Tam BT. Effects of Exercise Snacks on Cardiometabolic Health and Body Composition in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2025 Aug;35(8):e70114. doi: 10.1111/sms.70114.
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研究の完了 (推定)
研究の完了
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最終確認日
最終確認日
詳しくは
本研究に関する用語
その他の研究ID番号
その他の研究ID番号
- 2026-33
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