Department of Sports Science and Physical Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong.
Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2024 May;34(5):e14652. doi: 10.1111/sms.14652.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is characterized by repeated bouts of relatively intense exercise interspersed with recovery periods. Previous studies have evaluated this exercise strategy with various population subgroups, regimens, and comparator groups, limiting the generalizability of findings. We performed a novel umbrella review to generate an up-to-date synthesis of the available evidence regarding the effect of HIIT on cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in adults as compared to non-exercise control and traditional continuous forms of exercise such as moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT).
An umbrella review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Overviews of Reviews guideline. Seven databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Database, CINAHL, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science) were searched until February 2024. Systematic reviews with meta-analyses comparing HIIT and active/non-active control conditions were included. Literature search, data extraction, and methodological quality assessment (AMSTAR-2) were conducted independently by two reviewers.
Twenty-four systematic reviews with meta-analyses, representing 429 primary studies and 12 967 unique participants, met the inclusion criteria. Most of the systematic reviews received moderate-to-critically low AMSTAR-2 scores. The data showed that HIIT, including the particularly intense variant "sprint interval training" (SIT), significantly increases CRF in adults compared to non-exercise control (standardized mean difference [SMD]: 0.28 to 4.31; weighted mean difference [WMD]: 3.25 to 5.5 mL/kg/min) and MICT (SMD: 0.18 to 0.99; WMD: 0.52 to 3.76 mL/kg/min). This effect was consistently observed across specific groups of individuals (e.g., apparently healthy adults, individuals with overweight/obesity, older adults, and high-level athletes) and HIIT modalities (e.g., low-volume HIIT, whole-body HIIT, home-based HIIT, aquatic HIIT, and short SIT).
Existing evidence from systematic reviews consistently supports the effect of HIIT on enhancing CRF in adults when compared to non-exercise control and MICT. Our findings offer a comprehensive basis that may potentially contribute to informing physical activity guidelines aimed at improving CRF in the general population.
高强度间歇训练（HIIT）的特点是反复进行相对剧烈的运动，穿插恢复期。先前的研究已经评估了这种运动策略在各种人群亚组、方案和对照组中的效果，限制了研究结果的普遍性。我们进行了一项新的伞式综述，以对 HIIT 对成年人心肺功能（CRF）的影响的现有证据进行最新综合，与非运动对照和传统的连续运动形式（如中等强度连续训练（MICT））进行比较。
根据综述优先报告项目指南进行了伞式综述。检索了 7 个数据库（MEDLINE、EMBASE、Cochrane 数据库、CINAHL、Scopus、SPORTDiscus 和 Web of Science），检索截止日期为 2024 年 2 月。纳入了比较 HIIT 和主动/非主动对照条件的系统评价和荟萃分析。文献检索、数据提取和方法学质量评估（AMSTAR-2）由两名评审员独立进行。
24 项系统评价和荟萃分析，代表了 429 项原始研究和 12967 名独特参与者，符合纳入标准。大多数系统评价的 AMSTAR-2 评分从中等到极低。数据表明，与非运动对照（标准化均数差 [SMD]：0.28 至 4.31；加权均数差 [WMD]：3.25 至 5.5mL/kg/min）和 MICT（SMD：0.18 至 0.99；WMD：0.52 至 3.76mL/kg/min）相比，HIIT，包括特别剧烈的“冲刺间歇训练”（SIT）变体，可显著提高成年人的 CRF。这种效果在特定的个体群体（例如，健康成年人、超重/肥胖成年人、老年人和高水平运动员）和 HIIT 模式（例如，低容量 HIIT、全身 HIIT、家庭 HIIT、水上 HIIT 和短 SIT）中都得到了一致观察。
系统评价的现有证据一致支持 HIIT 对成年人 CRF 的影响，与非运动对照和 MICT 相比。我们的研究结果提供了一个全面的基础，可能有助于为旨在提高普通人群 CRF 的体育活动指南提供信息。
