Benefits beyond cardiometabolic health: the potential of frequent high intensity 'exercise snacks' to improve outcomes for those living with and beyond cancer

High intensity interval training (HIIT) has been shown to consistently elicit rapid and significant adaptations in a number of physiological systems, across many different healthy and clinical populations. In addition, there is increasing interest in how some acute, yet transient responses to high intensity exercise potentially reduce the risks of particular diseases. Recent work has shown that discrete, brief bouts of high intensity exercise (termed 'exercise snacks') can improve glucose control and vascular health and thus counter the negative cardiometabolic consequences of prolonged, uninterrupted periods of inactivity. In this brief review, we advance the case, using evidence available from pre-clinical studies in the exercise oncology literature, that brief, frequently completed bouts of high intensity exercise embedded within an individual's overall daily and weekly physical activity schedule, may transiently impact the tumour microenvironment and improve the health outcomes for those who have been diagnosed and treated for cancer.

Automated summary

This study explores the effects of high-intensity interval training and suggests that brief bouts of high-intensity exercise can improve glucose control, vascular health, and counter the negative effects of prolonged inactivity, ultimately improving health outcomes for cancer patients.