Abstract
Objectives: While exercise significantly reduces craving for cigarettes, the effect of exercise on self-initiation of quit attempts is less known. Therefore, this randomized pilot study explored the effect of starting an exercise program on self-initiated quit attempts, and also the feasibility and acceptability of a novel exercise intervention, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), as compared with a more traditional continuous aerobic (CA) exercise intervention. Methods: Participants smoked (5 cigarettes/d), were aged 18 to 40 years, and wanted to increase their exercise. Participants were randomized into 1 of 3 groups: HIIT, CA, and delayed control. All participants attended follow-up visits at weeks 4, 8, and 12. Outcomes included measures of feasibility (eg, visit attendance) and acceptability (eg, satisfaction), and also changes in smoking behavior (eg, quit attempts during follow-up) and proxies to quit attempts (eg, positive affect). Results: Overall, there were no differences in terms of feasibility and acceptability between the HITT (n=12) and CA (n=9) groups. Based on both self-report and objective measurement, the exercise groups (HIIT and CA) increased their physical activity as compared with the delayed treatment group (n=11). Compared with HIIT and delayed control, CA (n=9) had significant favorable changes in positive affect (eg, at week 8, HIIT: +0.25±2.21, delayed control: 5.11±2.23, CA: +5.50±2.23; P=0.0153). Conclusions: These observations suggest that HIIT is as feasible and acceptable as CA, though CA may have a more favorable effect on proxies to quit attempts (eg, positive affect). Fully powered studies are needed to examine the effect of HIIT versus CA on quit attempts.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 373-380 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Journal of addiction medicine |
Volume | 12 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2018 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Funding: Funding for this project was provided by ClearWay Minnesota (RC-2015–0004), the University of Minnesota’s Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health Grant (BIRCWH K12HD055887; Allen) from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the Office of Research on Women’s Health, and the National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, administered by the University of Minnesota Deborah E. Powell Center for Women’s Health. Support was also provided by Research Services in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Medical School, University of Minnesota (S. Carlson).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 American Society of Addiction Medicine.
Keywords
- Exercise
- Feasibility
- Smoking Cessation