Dose-response effect of a recreational team handball-based exercise programme on cardiometabolic health and physical fitness in inactive middle-aged-to-elderly males − a randomised controlled trial

ABSTRACT

This study aimed at examining the dose-response of a recreational team handball (TH) exercise-based programme on cardiometabolic health and physical fitness in inactive middle-aged-to-elderly males without TH experience. Fifty-four inactive middle-aged-to-elderly men (67.5 ± 4.2 years; stature 168.8 ± 6.2 cm; body mass 78.4 ± 10.7 kg; fat mass 27.1 ± 5.3%; BMI 27.4 ± 2.9 kg/m²; VO_2peak 27.3 ± 4.8 mL/min/kg) were randomised into three intervention groups performing 1 (TH1, n = 13), 2 (TH2, n = 15), or 3 (TH3, n = 12) 60-min weekly recreational TH-based training sessions, for 16 weeks, and a control group (CG, n = 14). A time x group interaction was observed for VO_2peak, aerobic performance, fasting plasma insulin and body and fat mass (p ≤ 0.043) with TH3 showing the greatest overall effects. Post-intervention differences were observed in aerobic performance (TH3>CG, TH1 and TH2; TH2>CG), body mass (TH3>CG and TH1), fat mass (TH3>CG), VO_2peak (TH3>CG) and plasma insulin (TH3>CG) (p ≤ 0.040). In conclusion, recreational TH performed for 60-min thrice and twice per week results in improved aerobic performance for middle-aged-to-elderly men. Moreover, it was observed that three weekly sessions were more effective in providing overall cardiometabolic benefits compared to training with a lower weekly frequency. ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT05295511.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05295511.

Highlights:

• We observed high intensities and fun levels during recreational TH, organised as formal and small-sided games, for middle-aged-to-elderly men during a 16-week period, independently of the number of weekly training sessions.

• Marked positive effects on aerobic performance and cardiometabolic health were observed in the intervention group that performed 3 weekly sessions.

• The study results indicate that recreational TH training with low frequency and volume results in some beneficial effects on cardiometabolic fitness and health for middle-aged-to-elderly men, but future studies with more participants or longer intervention periods are warranted to explore this possibility.

KEYWORDS:

• aerobic fitness
• ageing
• exercise
• health
• team sports

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all the participants for their committed participation. We would also like to express our gratitude to the members of the Handball4Health project, and the students from the University of Maia and the Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, who collaborated in the data collection and provided technical assistance. This study is part of the Handball for Health project, which has the support of the Portuguese Handball Federation, the European Handball Federation, Porto Sports Medicine Center (IPDJ, IP) and Gaia City Hall.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology [SFRH/BD/144132/2019; SFRH/BD/136789/2018] and national funding through the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P., under project UIDB04045/2020. RS is supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, within the framework of the Research Centre on Child Studies, University of Minho (UIDB/00317/2020 and UIDP/00317/2020).