Effects of Descending Stair Walking

NCT06574854 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: USM/JEPeM/PP/23070582
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 24
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The global rise in the prevalence of physical inactivity is major public health concern. Lifestyle-related activities, such as stairs walking, has important public health implications and may represent an alternative approach for those who have difficulty adhering to conventional exercise programs. This two-armed, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial (RCT) aims to assess and compare the effects between the descending stair walking (DSW) and ascending stair walking (ASW) on cardiometabolic health markers, cardiopulmonary capacity, body composition and muscular strength. This RCT will recruit 16 obese inactive and sedentary females will be randomized using permuted block randomization into two arms: intervention arm, DSW and active comparator arm: ASW in a 1:1 allocation ratio. The participants in the DSW and ASW arms will undergo twice a week stair walking intervention session for 8 weeks. The exercise volume will be gradually increased over 8 weeks by increasing the number of repetitions by two every week for both arms. Borg's scale of perceived exertion (RPE) and visual analogue scale (VAS) will be used to assess subjective intensity of stair walking and pain intensity immediately after each repetition. Assessments will be carried out through two time points, pre-intervention assessment (T0) and immediately after completion of the intervention at 8 weeks (T1). During each assessment, the primary outcome to be assessed includes the cardiometabolic health markers and cardiopulmonary capacity, while the secondary outcomes to be assessed are the body composition and muscular strength. Whereas during the intervention, continuous heart rate and gas consumption will be monitored at week 1 (W1), week 4 (W4) and week 8 (W8) to monitor the intensity of the exercise.

Conditions

Obesity

Keywords

body composition; cardiometabolic; stair walking; obesity

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (11)

• Total Cholesterol

  Changes in Total Cholesterol (mmol/L) from baseline

  8 weeks

• Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol

  Changes in Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (mmol/L) from baseline

  8 weeks

• High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol

  Changes in High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (mmol/L) from baseline

  8 weeks

• Trigliceride

  Changes in Trigliceride (mmol/L) from baseline

  8 weeks

• Fasting Plasma Glucose

  Changes in Fasting Plasma Glucose (mmol/L) from baseline

  8 weeks

• Resting Heart Rate

  Changes in Resting Heart Rate (beat.min) from baseline

  8 weeks

• Resting Blood Pressure

  Changes in Resting Diastolic and Systolic Blood Pressure (mm/Hg) from baseline

  8 weeks

• Resting Energy Expenditure

  Changes in Resting Energy Expenditure (kcal/day) from baseline

  8 weeks

• Alanine Aminotransferase

  Changes in Alanine Aminotransferase (U/L) from baseline

  8 weeks

• Alanine Aspartate transaminase

  Changes in Alanine Aspartate transaminase (U/L) from baseline

  8 weeks

• Resting energy oxidation

  Changes in fat and charbohydrate oxidation from baseline

  8 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (9)

• Body Mass

  8 weeks

• Body Mass Index (BMI)

  8 weeks

• Percentage body fat

  8 weeks

• Lean Body Mass

  8 weeks

• Waist Circumference

  8 weeks

Study Arms (2)

DSW

EXPERIMENTAL

Descending Stair Walking

Other: DSW

ASW

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Ascending Stair Walking

Other: ASW

Interventions

DSW OTHER

Descending Stair Walking

Also known as: Eccentric Training

DSW

ASW OTHER

Ascending Stair Walking

Also known as: Concentric Training

ASW

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 50 Years
• Gender Eligibility Details: Female
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Women
• age 18-50-year-old
• BMI 25.0 - 39.9 kg/m2,
• body fat percentage \> 30%
• no lower limb orthopaedic injuries
• sedentary lifestyle (regular exercise \<1 h per week).

You may not qualify if:

• smokers
• taking supplements or medication known to affect REE (such as oral contraceptives),
• severe medical conditions affecting their physical or mental health
• individuals with implanted medical device
• suffer from alcohol or drug abuse and
• trying to conceive/ pregnant or breastfeeding

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Universiti Sains Malaysia: lead
• Ministry of Health, Malaysia: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Wellness Hub Timur Laut, Pulau Pinang

Ayer Itam, Pulau Pinang, 11500, Malaysia

Location

Related Publications (11)

• Chen TC, Hsieh CC, Tseng KW, Ho CC, Nosaka K. Effects of Descending Stair Walking on Health and Fitness of Elderly Obese Women. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2017 Aug;49(8):1614-1622. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000001267.

  PMID: 28291022 BACKGROUND

• Regnersgaard S, Knudsen AK, Lindskov FO, Mratinkovic M, Pressel E, Ingersen A, Dela F. Down stair walking: A simple method to increase muscle mass and performance in 65+ year healthy people. Eur J Sport Sci. 2022 Feb;22(2):279-288. doi: 10.1080/17461391.2020.1856936. Epub 2021 Apr 24.

  PMID: 33241972 BACKGROUND

• Chen TC, Huang TH, Tseng WC, Tseng KW, Hsieh CC, Chen MY, Chou TY, Huang YC, Chen HL, Nosaka K. Changes in plasma C1q, apelin and adropin concentrations in older adults after descending and ascending stair walking intervention. Sci Rep. 2021 Sep 3;11(1):17644. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-96631-x.

  PMID: 34480035 BACKGROUND

• Theodorou AA, Panayiotou G, Paschalis V, Nikolaidis MG, Kyparos A, Mademli L, Grivas GV, Vrabas IS. Stair descending exercise increases muscle strength in elderly males with chronic heart failure. BMC Res Notes. 2013 Mar 8;6:87. doi: 10.1186/1756-0500-6-87.

  PMID: 23510560 BACKGROUND

• Chow BC, Li S, Zhu X, Jiao J, Quach B, Baker JS, Zhang H. Effects of descending or ascending stair exercise on body composition, insulin sensitivity, and inflammatory markers in young Chinese women with obesity: A randomized controlled trial. J Sports Sci. 2021 Mar;39(5):496-502. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2020.1829362. Epub 2020 Oct 4.

  PMID: 33012244 BACKGROUND

• Ainsworth BE, Haskell WL, Herrmann SD, Meckes N, Bassett DR Jr, Tudor-Locke C, Greer JL, Vezina J, Whitt-Glover MC, Leon AS. 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities: a second update of codes and MET values. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011 Aug;43(8):1575-81. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e31821ece12.

  PMID: 21681120 BACKGROUND

• Bassett DR, Vachon JA, Kirkland AO, Howley ET, Duncan GE, Johnson KR. Energy cost of stair climbing and descending on the college alumnus questionnaire. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1997 Sep;29(9):1250-4. doi: 10.1097/00005768-199709000-00019.

  PMID: 9309638 BACKGROUND

• Paschalis V, Theodorou AA, Panayiotou G, Kyparos A, Patikas D, Grivas GV, Nikolaidis MG, Vrabas IS. Stair descending exercise using a novel automatic escalator: effects on muscle performance and health-related parameters. PLoS One. 2013;8(2):e56218. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0056218. Epub 2013 Feb 21.

  PMID: 23437093 BACKGROUND

• Chen TC, Tseng WC, Huang GL, Chen HL, Tseng KW, Nosaka K. Superior Effects of Eccentric to Concentric Knee Extensor Resistance Training on Physical Fitness, Insulin Sensitivity and Lipid Profiles of Elderly Men. Front Physiol. 2017 Apr 10;8:209. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2017.00209. eCollection 2017.

  PMID: 28443029 BACKGROUND

• Ansari M, Hardcastle S, Myers S, Williams AD. The Health and Functional Benefits of Eccentric versus Concentric Exercise Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Sports Sci Med. 2023 Jun 1;22(2):288-309. doi: 10.52082/jssm.2023.288. eCollection 2023 Jun.

  PMID: 37293426 BACKGROUND

• Touron J, Maisonnave L, Rigaudiere JP, Montaurier C, De Antonio M, Perrault H, Richard R, Capel F. Eccentric and concentric exercises induce different adaptions in adipose tissue biology. J Physiol Biochem. 2023 May;79(2):441-450. doi: 10.1007/s13105-023-00956-2. Epub 2023 Mar 24.

  PMID: 36961725 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Obesity

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Overweight; Overnutrition; Nutrition Disorders; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Body Weight; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 14, 2024
• First Posted: August 28, 2024
• Study Start: May 1, 2023
• Primary Completion: March 1, 2025
• Study Completion: March 15, 2025
• Last Updated: February 5, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-02

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

MY (1)