Table 3.
The characteristics of the control groups in the studies under review.
| Study Author, Year |
Intervention Group | Control Group Non-Exercise Group (Yes/No) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Modality | Duration/Frequency (Per Week)/Total Amount | Intensity | |||
| 1 | Bruseghini, 2015 [43] | RT—Bilateral resistance exercise using leg press flywheel ergometer | 8 w/3/24 | 4 sets of 7 maximal bilateral knee concentric extensions and eccentric flexions of the knee from about 90° to 160–170° knee joint interspersed by 3 min rest periods were initiated immediately following two submaximal actions. 10 min warm-up including 3 sets of 7 submaximal actions with progressively increased effort. Session duration 15 min including warm-up and rest periods. |
No. |
| 2 | Bruseghini, 2019 [44] | The same as paper number 1 | |||
| 3 | Donath, 2015 [33] | Treadmill walking | Single session | Comfortable normal walking speed below 50% of HR max for 4 × 4 min. During the 3 min breaks, participants stood still in an upright position. | No. |
| 4 | Donath, 2015 [47] | Not relevant, pre-post design | |||
| 5 | Coetsee, 2017 [46] | 1. RT group. 2. MCT group—walking on treadmill. |
16 w/3/48 | 1. RT group—upper and lower body resistance exercises using machines and free weights. Three sets of 10 repetitions were performed at 50%, 75%, and 100% of the individual’s 10 RM. After 8 weeks the load for each set was increased to 75%, 85%, and 100% of the individual’s 10 RM. Duration of the RT session was approximately 30 min, excluding the warm-up and cooldown. 2. MCT group performed continuous walking on a treadmill at 70–75% of maximal HR. Duration—47 min. |
Yes. |
| 6 | Sculthorpe, 2017 [36] | No | Yes. | ||
| 7 | Ballesta-García, 2019 [42] | MCT | 2 w/18/36 | Similar to HIIT movements of the lower limbs & upper limbs with or without external load. 9–14 perceived exertion score as per the Börg scale. Duration—1 h including warm-up and cooldown phase. |
Yes. |
| 8 | Hurst, 2019 [48] | No | Yes. | ||
| 9 | Jiménez-García, 2019 [3] | MIIT | 12 w/2/24 | Same protocol as HIIT with lower intensities: 70% of the maximum HR for the main squat activity with TRX and 50–55% of the maximum HR for the active rest intervals. | Yes—2 × 90 min health education classes focused on health promotion during the study period. |
| 10 | Jiménez-García, 2019 [49] | MIIT | 12 w/2/24 | Same as paper 9. | Yes, yet it was reported that the participants were instructed to maintain their daily lifestyle including guidelines to encourage physical activity but were instructed to refrain from participating in any systematized exercise activity. |
| 11 | Bruseghini, 2020 [45] | MCT | 8 w/3/24 | Stationary bike cycling or treadmill walking at 46–64% of VO2 max. Duration—20–30 min. |
No. |
RT, resistance training; w, weeks; HR, heart rate; MCT, moderate continuous aerobic training; RM, repetition maximum; HIIT, high-intensity interval training; MIIT, moderate intensity interval training; TRX, suspension weight training; VO2, maximal oxygen consumption.