Research project Physical activity has important effects on various health factors for the growing older population. Despite this, a large proportion of older adults are insufficiently physically active. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIT) with very short interval duration is a new training method with the potential to have important effects on health.
Despite promising results among young and middle-aged adults, studies with high quality have been lacking among older people. Our interdisciplinary project group has through pilot studies developed a group-based HIT protocol adapted for older adults. This training program was evaluated in a randomized controlled trial. Currently, two studies aiming at facilitating the implementation of the training are ongoing.
the Swedish Research Council
Forte- Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare
Kamprad Family Foundation
Seniorhusen Foundation
the Swedish Dementia Association
the Erik and Anne Marie Detlof’s Foundation
the Umeå University Foundation for Medical Research
Strategic Research Grants 2021 funded by the Faculty of Medicine at Umeå University
Strategic Research Area Health Care Science (SFO-V)
The Umeå High-Intensity Training Study (The Umeå HIT Study)
Background
Physical activity has important effects on various health factors for the growing older population. Despite this, a large proportion of older adults are insufficiently physically active. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIT) with very short interval duration is a new training method with the potential of having important effects on health. Despite promising results among young and middle-aged adults, studies with high quality have been lacking among older people. Our interdisciplinary project group has through pilot studies developed a group-based HIT protocol adapted for older adults. This training program is evaluated in a randomized controlled trial, and in two studies aiming at facilitating the implementation of the training. The research group collaborates with representatives from, for example, senior and sports organizations. This project can potentially provide evidence regarding the safety and effect of HIT for older people, as well as contribute to broad implementation.
Study evaluating the applicability and effects
Our training program was evaluated in a randomized controlled trial (RCT). The aim was to evaluate the effects on cardiorespiratory fitness, cognitive-, cardiovascular-, and muscular function, as well as quality-of-life. We will also evaluate the applicability of the program and, in connection to the RCT, explore older people´s experiences by interviews.
Sixty-eight non-exercising older adults were included. They were randomized to HIT (20-minute session including 10x6-second intervals) or Moderate-intensity Training, MIT (40-minute session including 3x8-minute intervals). The training was performed on stationary bicycles in an ordinary gym-setting, two times per week for 12 weeks.
Applicability (attendance, achieved intensity, and adverse events) was registered at each training session. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, at 3 months, and at 9 months. Interviews were performed after the training period. The study protocol is published (NCT03765385).
The results from the RCT showed, among other things, that 3 months of watt-controlled supramaximal HIT improved cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiovascular function to a similar extent as MIT, despite half the training time. In favor of HIT, there was an improvement in muscular function and a potential domain-specific effect on working memory.
Studies to facilitate future implementation
Within the study, two other projects are performed to facilitate the future implementation of the study: HIT-Home and HIT-Group. The aim of HIT-Home is to investigate whether the HIT protocol can be further developed to be implemented in the home environment among older people.
This project utilizes co-creation, in which participants from the HIT-group from the RCT partake in workshops aimed to identify how the HIT-protocol can be adapted to a home setting in terms of training modality, safety concerns, usability, and instructions. The same participants also take part in physiological tests in a lab to study whether the adapted HIT-protocol elicits similar acute physiological effects as training on a stationary bicycle. The end result of this project is the development of a digital platform in which a HIT-protocol can be followed in a home setting.
The aim of HIT-Group is to develop and evaluate implementation strategies for the HIT protocol using stationary bicycles as group training for older people in a public training facility. Study participants include both the participants performing exercise sessions and the instructors of the exercise sessions. Instructor participants will be recruited through the training facility’s current staff. The instructors will be asked to participate in a co-creation workshop to further develop the protocol. The aim is to make the protocol as feasible and applicable as possible within the context of the specific training facility as well as other, future, training facilities. Individual interviews with instructors will explore how the intervention is accepted and fit into the context of a group training program at the local training facility, as well as identify barriers and facilitators at both the individual and organizational level. Interviews will explore the participant’s experiences and attitudes toward the program. The fidelity of the program will be investigated through observations of sessions and analysis of data from each participant’s individualized training program after the training period is completed.
