Aquatic High-Intensity Interval Training Improves Vascular Function, Whereas Aquatic Moderate-Intensity Continuous Training Lowers Resting Heart Rate in Overweight and Obese Young Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Zhendong Yu1,#, Songxing Tang2,#, Min Hu1,, Jianwei Peng1, Qihong Fan1, Lu Leng3, Dongdong Gao1, Jinghui Guo4, Haijie Yu2, Junhao Huang1,5,
1Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Physical Activity and Health Promotion, Guangzhou Sport University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China 2ImFINE Research Group, Department of Health and Human Performance, Faculty of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences-INEF, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain 3College of Foreign Languages, Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China 4School of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China 5Dr. Neher’s Biophysics Laboratory for Innovative Drug Discovery, State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China # These authors contributed equally to this work.
Junhao Huang ✉ Scientific Research Center, Guangzhou Sport University, 1268 Middle Guangzhou Avenue, Guangzhou 510500, China Email: junhaohuang2006@hotmail.com
Received: 24-10-2024 -- Accepted: 29-07-2025 Published (online): 01-09-2025
Narrated in English
ABSTRACT
We investigated the effects of 8-week aquatic moderate-intensity continuous training (aMICT) and aquatic high-intensity interval training (aHIIT) on body composition, aerobic fitness, arterial stiffness, and endothelial function in overweight and obese young adults (OOYA). Sixty-one OOYA were randomly assigned to aHIIT, aMICT, or Control group. aHIIT group underwent twelve 30-second exercise bouts with the intensity of 85-95% HRmax, with a 60-second rest between each bout. aMICT group underwent an uninterrupted exercise with the intensity of 70-75% HRmax for 30 minutes. Endothelial function was assessed using brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and arterial stiffness was evaluated through pulse wave velocity (PWV) and ankle-brachial index (ABI). Results revealed that aHIIT but not aMICT decreased ABI and increased FMD and skeletal muscle mass, whereas only aMICT decreased resting heart rate. A positive correlation was found between the change in weight with the change in FMD (r = 0.527, p = 0.020) after aHIIT. Following subgroup analysis, a positive correlation between change in weight and change in FMD was also found in participants with increased skeletal muscle mass in aHIIT group (r = 0.665, p = 0.002). Moreover, the change in VO2max was positively correlated with the change in FMD (r = 0.568, p < 0.001). In conclusion, both aHIIT and aMICT can raise aerobic capacity among OOYA. Importantly, aHIIT offers a time-efficient option to improve vascular function in OOYA, whereas aMICT may be preferable when the primary goal is to lower resting heart rate.
aHIIT and aMICT resulted in different vascular adaptations in the OOYA, suggesting that aquatic exercise can be used as a preventive strategy to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease.
aHIIT saves 5 folds of time over aMICT in effective exercise, which provides an alternative and time-strategized exercise mode.
These present findings (including correlation analysis) warrant quantitative data in larger-scale related studies in the OOYA population in the future.
Share this article
Email link to this article
Aquatic High-Intensity Interval Training Improves Vascular Function, Whereas Aquatic Moderate-Intensity Continuous Training Lowers Resting Heart Rate in Overweight and Obese Young Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Zhendong Yu, Songxing Tang, Min Hu, Jianwei Peng, Qihong Fan, Lu Leng, Dongdong Gao, Jinghui Guo, Haijie Yu, Junhao Huang
