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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2022 Dec 11;14(24):5279.
doi: 10.3390/nu14245279.

Effects of 8-Week Online, Supervised High-Intensity Interval Training on the Parameters Related to the Anaerobic Threshold, Body Weight, and Body Composition during Pregnancy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Hongli Yu  1 , Rita Santos-Rocha  2   3 , Łukasz Radzimiński  4 , Zbigniew Jastrzębski  4 , Iwona Bonisławska  5 , Andrzej Szwarc  1 , Anna Szumilewicz  1
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Effects of 8-Week Online, Supervised High-Intensity Interval Training on the Parameters Related to the Anaerobic Threshold, Body Weight, and Body Composition during Pregnancy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Hongli Yu et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

We aimed to assess the effects of an 8-week, online high-intensity interval training (HIIT) program on the parameters related to the anaerobic threshold (AT), body weight, and body composition in pregnant women. A total of 69 Caucasian women with an uncomplicated singleton pregnancy (age: 31 ± 4 years; gestational age: 22 ± 5 weeks; mean ± standard deviation) were randomly allocated to either an 8-week HIIT program (HIIT group) or to a comparative 8-week educational program (EDU group). Our most important finding was that even with the 8-week progression of pregnancy and physiological weight gain, the HIIT group maintained the same level of parameters related to AT: volume of oxygen at the AT (VO2/AT), percentage of maximal oxygen uptake at the AT (%VO2max/AT), and heart rate at the AT (HR/AT). In contrast, in the EDU group we observed a substantial deterioration of parameters related to the AT. The HIIT intervention substantially reduced the fat mass percentage (median: 30 to 28%; p < 0.01) and improved the total fat-free mass percentage (median: 70% to 72%; p < 0.01). In the EDU group, the body composition did not change significantly. An online, supervised HIIT program may be used to prevent the pregnancy-related risk of excessive weight gain and reduction in exercise capacity without yielding adverse obstetric or neonatal outcomes.

Keywords: anaerobic exercise capacity; anaerobic threshold; body composition; high-intensity interval training; pregnancy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of participant selection. EDU: education, HIIT: high-intensity interval training. a Not interested in continuing the program (n = 4); preterm birth (n = 1); taking medications that could influence the glucose level or lipid metabolism (n = 1); not feeling well on the day of the second assessment (n = 2); or did not provide a reason (n = 1).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic representation of the study protocol. AerT: aerobic threshold, AT: anaerobic threshold, BIA: bioelectrical impedance analysis, CPET: cardiopulmonary exercise test, EDU: education, HIIT: high-intensity interval training, HRmax: maximal heart rate, IPAQ: International Physical Activity Questionnaire, RPE: rating of perceived exertion.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison of the baseline demographic characteristics between the HIIT (n = 28) and EDU (n = 21) groups, BMI: body mass index, EDU: education, HIIT: high-intensity interval training. The analysis was conducted using the chi-square test (* p < 0.05).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Box charts (a–e) showing the entire distribution of raw data (rhombus) and the median value (central line) of the parameters related to the anaerobic threshold before and after the 8-week HIIT (n = 28) and educational interventions (n = 21). EDU: education, HIIT: high-intensity interval training, HR/AerT: heart rate at the aerobic threshold, HR/AT: heart rate at the anaerobic threshold, VO2/AT: maximal oxygen uptake at anaerobic threshold, %VO2max/AT: percentage of maximal oxygen uptake at the anaerobic threshold. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA (## p < 0.01) and a paired Wilcoxon test (** p < 0.01).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Violin plots (a–d) showing the entire distribution of the median (central line) and interquartile range (lower and upper lines) of the body composition before and after 8 weeks of the HIIT and educational interventions. BMI: body mass index, EDU: education, HIIT: high-intensity interval training, %FFM: fat-free mass percentage, %FM: fat mass percentage. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA (# p < 0.01) and a paired Wilcoxon test (** p < 0.01).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Heat maps of Spearman’s correlation coefficients of the changes in the body composition and parameters related to the anaerobic threshold and intervention characteristics in the HIIT (a) and EDU groups (b). AerT: aerobic threshold, BMI: body mass index, EDU: educational, HIIT: high-intensity interval training, HR/AerT: heart rate at the aerobic threshold, HR/AT: heart rate at the anaerobic threshold, RPE: rating of perceived exertion, VO2/AT: maximal oxygen uptake at anaerobic threshold, %FFM: fat-free mass percentage, %FM: fat mass percentage, %VO2max/AT: percentage of maximal oxygen uptake at the anaerobic threshold. *** p < 0.001; ** p < 0.01; * p < 0.05. A darker color indicates a stronger correlation and vice versa; green shows a positive association, whereas red shows a negative association.
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