The Effects of an Acute Bout of Aerobic or Resistance Exercise on Nonexercise Physical Activity

Abstract

Introduction/purpose: A reduction in nonexercise physical activity (NEPA) after exercise may reduce the effectiveness of exercise interventions on weight loss in adults with overweight or obesity. Aerobic exercise (AEx) and resistance exercise (REx) may have different effects on NEPA. The purpose of this secondary analysis was to examine the effect of a single bout of AEx or REx on NEPA and sedentary behavior in inactive adults with overweight or obesity.

Methods: Adults with overweight or obesity (n = 24; 50% male; age, 34.5 ± 1.5 yr; body mass index, 28.5 ± 0.9 kg·m^-2) not meeting current physical activity guidelines completed a single 45-min bout of AEx, REx, or a sedentary control on different days in random order. After each condition, participants' NEPA was recorded for 84 h by accelerometer. Time spent sedentary and in light, moderate, and vigorous physical activity; steps; metabolic equivalent of task (MET)-hours; and sit-to-stand transitions were calculated using activity count data.

Results: No differences were observed in the percent of waking time spent sedentary and in light, moderate, and vigorous activity between conditions (P > 0.05). No differences were observed in steps, MET-hours, or sit-to-stand transitions between conditions (P > 0.05). NEPA responses were variable among individuals, with approximately half of participants reducing and half increasing NEPA over the 84 h after each exercise condition.

Conclusion: NEPA was not reduced after an acute bout of AEx or REx in a sample of inactive adults with overweight or obesity.

Keywords: Aerobic Exercise; Nonexercise Physical Activity; Obesity; Resistance Exercise.

Figure 1.

Time spent sedentary (SED) and in light physical activity (LPA) and moderate physical activity (MPA) after exercise bouts. Comparison of percent waking, nonexercise time spent in SED (≤1.5 metabolic equivalents of task (METs)), LPA (>1.5 to <3.0 METs), and MPA (≥3.0 to <6.0 METs) between conditions. Box components indicate median (middle bar of box), interquartile range (outer edges of box), and most extreme values that are not outliers (ends of lines extending from box). AEx, aerobic exercise condition; CON, sedentary control condition; REx, resistance exercise condition.

Figure 2.

Changes in metabolic equivalent of task (MET)-hours over 84 h after aerobic exercise (AEx) and resistance exercise (REx) compared with the control (CON) condition. A, Change in MET-hours over 84 h after AEx compared with CON. Each bar represents an individual participant’s change compared with the MET-hours they obtained during the CON condition. B, Change in MET-hours over 84 h after REx compared with CON. Each bar represents an individual participant’s change compared with the MET-hours they obtained during the CON condition.