Affective and Enjoyment Responses to Short-Term High-Intensity Interval Training with Low-Carbohydrate Diet in Overweight Young Women

Abstract

Low-carbohydrate diets (LCs) seem effective on weight reduction and maintenance. However, the affect and enjoyment of exercise during LCs is not clear. The purpose of the present study was to compare the psychological responses to high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and to moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) during the consumption of a 4-week LC diet in overweight young women. With LCs (~10% carbohydrate, 65%-70% fat, 20%-25% protein), forty-three eligible women (age: 20.9 ± 3.1 years; body weight: 65.8 ± 8.2 kg) were randomly assigned to one of three groups: HIIT (10 sets of 6 s all-out cycling interspersed with 9 s of rest), MICT (30 min cycling at 50%-60% of peak oxygen consumption,VO 2peak ) or no-exercise controls (CON). Anthropometric indices andVO 2peak were measured pre-and post-training. Feeling Scale (FS), Felt Arousal Scale (FAS), Exercise Enjoyment Scale (EES), and Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES) scores were collected before and immediately after each training session throughout the study. After intervention, all three groups reduced by more than 2.5 kg of body weight whereas both exercise groups improved~15%VO 2peak . Participants in the HIIT and MICT group exhibited similar affect points as indicated by FS and FAS. Post-exercise enjoyment scores in PACES were lower in HIIT (73-78 points) than MICT (83-87 points) despite similarly positive responses being observed in EES (corresponding to~4 points of a 7-point scale). Short-term LCs were effective in weight loss and exercise training had an additive improvement on cardiorespiratory fitness. The overweight young women had similar affect valence, arousal levels, and comparable pleasurable feelings to HIIT and MICT with LCs. Furthermore, as indicated by PACES, MICT was more enjoyable which may elicit better adherence, whereas HIIT with LCs seems to be more arduous despite its time-efficiency.

Acute metabolic responses after continuous or interval exercise in post‐menopausal women with overweight or obesity

“…Besides the muscle constraints generated by HIIE (higher velocity and intensity performed), the fact that women performed the sessions in fasting conditions could have made HIIE more difficult, due to higher glycogen and plasma glucose utilization. 40 However, we did not find any effect of HIIE or MICE on glycemia during or after exercise. Finally, despite higher rates of perceived exertion in HIIE 1 and HIIE 2 vs. MICE, enjoyment was similar for all three modalities, thus confirming the feasibility of such programs in this population.…”

“…In our study, the rate of perceived exertion increased throughout exercise, but was higher during HIIE 1 and HIIE 2 than MICE. Besides the muscle constraints generated by HIIE (higher velocity and intensity performed), the fact that women performed the sessions in fasting conditions could have made HIIE more difficult, due to higher glycogen and plasma glucose utilization 40 . However, we did not find any effect of HIIE or MICE on glycemia during or after exercise.…”

Affective and Enjoyment Responses to Sprint Interval Exercise at Different Hypoxia Levels

“…However, based on existing data with contradictory results in the literature [14,33,38], there is still no solid evidence to draw conclusions. Individual differences in physical (e.g., physical activity level [39]), psychological status (e.g., exercise preference and tolerance of intensity) [40,41], and macronutrient intake (e.g., low-carbohydrate diets) [42] also account for the discrepancy. From the aspect of the neural system, the interplay of prefrontal cortex and amygdala have been revealed to regulate affective responses during exercise [43][44][45].…”

High-intensity interval training elicits more enjoyment and positive affective valence than moderate-intensity training over a 12-week intervention in overweight young women

“… 18 , 24 , 25 It was evidenced that enjoyment progressively increased following HIIT with repeated measurements over a period of 4–8 weeks. 24 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 However, few studies have analysed the long-term effects of HIIT (i.e., ≥12 weeks) on enjoyment and pleasure. To the best of our knowledge, only one study (Hu et al., 2021) examined the effects of 12-week interval protocols and found that interval training caused the same exercise enjoyment as MICT in overweight young women.…”