Technology‐Enabled Exercise “Snacks” Are Feasible to Perform in a Real‐World Setting: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This randomized controlled trial investigated the feasibility and efficacy of a 12-week remotely delivered exercise snacks intervention in the real world. Inactive adults (n = 77; 56 females, 21 males; mean age ± SD: 54 ± 6 years, mean VO_2peak ± SD: 24.5 ± 4.4 mL/kg/min) were randomized to an exercise snacks (n = 38; bodyweight exercises) or a placebo exercise control group (n = 39; stretching exercises). Participants were encouraged to perform ≥ 3 exercise bouts/day (bouts were ≤ 1 min), ≥ 3 days/week delivered through an online platform. Feasibility outcomes included exercise adherence and enjoyment. The primary efficacy outcome was peak oxygen uptake (VO_2peak) at baseline and 12 weeks. Secondary outcomes included rating of perceived exertion (RPE; 0-10 scale), exercise enjoyment scale (EES; 0-7), and blood biomarkers of cardiometabolic health. Seventy-three participants completed the intervention and 71 completed at least one follow-up testing measure. Adherence, based on total bouts from the online platform, exceeded the prescribed minimum and was not different between the exercise snacks (173 ± 74) and control (158 ± 92) groups (p = 0.37). RPE across the intervention was higher in the exercise snacks compared to the control group (3.0 ± 0.7 vs. 2.1 ± 0.6, respectively; p < 0.001) with high enjoyment (both groups averaging ~4.2 ± 0.9; p > 0.05). There were no between-group differences in the change in absolute (mean difference: 0.0 [95% CI: -0.1, 0.1] L/min) or relative (0.4 [-0.6, 1.4] mL/kg/min) VO_2peak (p > 0.05). There were no differences in blood biomarkers of cardiometabolic health (p > 0.05). Twelve weeks of remotely delivered exercise snacks were feasible for inactive adults to complete in the real world. Future work may need to optimize the exercise snacks stimulus to elicit physiological changes. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05574426.