Psychophysiological and Cognitive Responses to Low-Volume High-Intensity Interval Exercise in Overweight-to-Obese Adults (PSYCOG-HIIE)

Universiti Sains Malaysia

Status: Completed

Conditions: Overweight and/or Obesity; Overweight and Obese Adults

Treatments: Behavioral: Low-Volume High-Intensity Interval Exercise (Lv-HIIE)

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07276308

FRGS/1/2022/SKK06/USM/03/5 (Other Grant/Funding Number)

USM/JEPeM/22080549

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study aims to explore how stress-related hormones and psychological traits influence people's feelings and perceptions during a short and intense form of exercise called low-volume high-intensity interval exercise (Lv-HIIE). Adults with overweight or obesity participated in a supervised 10-week cycling program consisting of repeated one-minute high-intensity efforts separated by short recovery periods.

The research examines how psychophysiological stress markers (such as cortisol and ACTH), cognitive traits (such as goal orientation and hardiness), and perceptual responses (such as exertion, mood, and enjoyment) change over time. Findings from this study may help develop exercise programs that are more enjoyable, sustainable, and personalized for individuals with higher body-mass categories.

Enrollment: 32 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 20 to 35 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Male and female between the ages of 20-35 years old
• BMI of 23 kg.m² to 30 kg.m2
• Medically fit to exercise.
• Physically inactive individuals (do not achieve 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise/PA for a week).

Exclusion criteria

• smokers.
• free from any metabolic diseases such as hypertension, dyslipidaemia, and hyperglycaemia.
• not using any medication or substance known to influence cardiorespiratory or metabolic responses to exercise
• previously participated in a specific training program within the past 6 months before the exercise interventions.
• contraindications to exercise based on the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q) such as musculoskeletal injuries.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Basic Science

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

---

32 participants in 1 patient group

Low-Volume High-Intensity Interval Exercise (Lv-HIIE)

Experimental group

Description:

Participants will perform a low-volume high-intensity interval exercise (Lv-HIIE) program consisting of 6-10 cycling intervals at 90% of maximal aerobic speed, interspersed with 75-second active recovery periods. The intervention will be conducted three times per week for 10 weeks under supervised laboratory conditions. Each session will include standardized warm-up and cool-down phases. The study aims to evaluate psychophysiological stress, cognitive markers, and perceptual responses across repeated exercise sessions in overweight-to-obese adults.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Low-Volume High-Intensity Interval Exercise (Lv-HIIE)