ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Exercise Physiology
Web-based High-Intensity Bodyweight Interval Training Improves Metabolic Health and Physical Fitness Outcomes in Middle-Aged Men with Obesity During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Provisionally accepted
- 1Korea National Sport University, Songpa-gu, Republic of Korea
- 2Konyang University, Nonsan-si, Republic of Korea
- 3Korea Military Academy, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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Reduced opportunities for physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic have accelerated obesity-related risks, underscoring the need for effective, scalable remote training. We conducted a randomized controlled trial in twenty-two middle-aged men with obesity (age < 45 years; BMI > 30 kg/m²; waist circumference > 90 cm) to test an eight-week, real-time, supervised high-intensity interval training (HIIT) program delivered via videoconferencing versus a non-exercise control. Sessions (twice weekly) included a standardized warm-up, 20-min HIIT, and cool-down with live monitoring and weekly diet-log reviews. Web-based HIIT significantly reduced fat mass by 6.6% (-2.01 kg; d = 1.38) without altering total body weight and elicited favorable metabolic adaptations, including increased HDL cholesterol and decreased total and LDL cholesterol. Hormonal and inflammatory profiles improved, with leptin decreasing, adiponectin increasing, and IL-10 elevated, while IL-6 remained unchanged. Cardiorespiratory fitness improved, with VO₂max (mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹) rising by 3.06 (~8.7%) and minute ventilation, VE (L·min⁻¹) increasing. Functional performance also improved: trunk extensor peak torque and average power increased by 9.7% and 30.2%, respectively, and lower-limb flexor peak torque rose by 31.8% (right) and 19.5% (left), corresponding to large effects (d = 0.9–1.3). Together, these findings demonstrate that real-time, non-face-to-face HIIT effectively enhances body composition, lipid metabolism, inflammatory balance, aerobic capacity, and muscle performance in men with obesity. This contactless approach represents a feasible and deployable strategy for health maintenance during and beyond pandemic restrictions.
Keywords: high-intensity interval training (HIIT), Web-based exercise intervention, Obesity, Metabolic health, COVID-19
Received: 23 Sep 2025; Accepted: 10 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Hwang, Choi and Hyun. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Dong-Hun Choi, dhchoi86@konyang.ac.kr
Ah-Hyun Hyun, kma1223838@gmail.com
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