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Application of Exercise Snacks across Youth, Adult and Clinical Populations: A Scoping Review

Kathryn L. Weston Orcid Logo, Jonathan P. Little Orcid Logo, Matthew Weston, Sara McCreary, Vanessa Kitchin Orcid Logo, Amrit Gill, Ailsa Niven Orcid Logo, Melitta McNarry Orcid Logo, Kelly Mackintosh Orcid Logo

Sports Medicine - Open, Volume: 11, Issue: 1

Swansea University Authors: Matthew Weston, Melitta McNarry Orcid Logo, Kelly Mackintosh Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1186/s40798-025-00829-6

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BackgroundInterest in ‘exercise snacks’ has increased, yet a comprehensive and holistic review of this novel concept is lacking. We aimed to map global research on ‘exercise snacks’, across youth, adult and clinical populations through a scoping review.MethodsA systematic search was conducted in six...

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Published in: Sports Medicine - Open
ISSN: 2198-9761
Published: Springer Science and Business Media LLC 2025
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa69133
first_indexed 2025-03-21T10:58:27Z
last_indexed 2025-03-22T06:04:17Z
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We aimed to map global research on &#x2018;exercise snacks&#x2019;, across youth, adult and clinical populations through a scoping review.MethodsA systematic search was conducted in six databases. Grey literature searches were also conducted. Studies whereby participants were prescribed a structured bout of intense exercise dispersed across the day, or the exercise was explicitly defined as a form of &#x2018;snacks&#x2019;, in any setting were included. We used the Consensus on Exercise Reporting Template (CERT) to assess the completeness of exercise descriptions. Data were recorded into spreadsheets, then descriptively analyzed and summarized in graphic form.ResultsThe 45 publications meeting our inclusion criteria represented 33 original studies. These 33 studies enrolled a total of 1118 participants, with a median sample size of 24. Studies were categorized as either acute (n&#x2009;=&#x2009;12) or chronic (n&#x2009;=&#x2009;21) trials with both trial types performed across a wide range of participant ages (range 8.7 to 78 years) but mostly conducted on healthy adults and older adults. The majority of studies (20/33) defined the concept as &#x2018;exercise snacks&#x2019;, with study context being predominantly the laboratory or home. A wide variety of exercise modes (e.g., cycling, stair climbing, body weight exercises) and comparator conditions (e.g., moderate intensity continuous exercise, prolonged sitting, non-exercise controls) were used. &#x2018;Exercise snack&#x2019; intensity was prescribed more frequently than it was reported, and, of the available data, mean intensity was estimated at 76.9% of maximal heart rate and 5.2 Arbitrary Units (AU) on the Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE) CR10 scale. Study outcome measures were predominantly cardiovascular, metabolic, muscular, and psychological, with studies mostly adhering to the CERT, though there was underreporting of detail for the exercise provider, motivation strategies, adverse events and intervention fidelity.ConclusionThe &#x2018;exercise snack&#x2019; concept is being increasingly used to cover an array of exercise models. The most common protocols to date utilize body weight exercises or stair climbing. We recommend &#x2018;exercise snacks&#x2019; terminology is consistently used to describe protocols whereby short, purposeful structured exercise is dispersed throughout the day. Future studies should provide detailed descriptions of their &#x2018;exercise snacks&#x2019; model, through exercise and adverse event reporting checklists.</abstract><type>Journal Article</type><journal>Sports Medicine - Open</journal><volume>11</volume><journalNumber>1</journalNumber><paginationStart/><paginationEnd/><publisher>Springer Science and Business Media LLC</publisher><placeOfPublication/><isbnPrint/><isbnElectronic/><issnPrint/><issnElectronic>2198-9761</issnElectronic><keywords/><publishedDay>18</publishedDay><publishedMonth>3</publishedMonth><publishedYear>2025</publishedYear><publishedDate>2025-03-18</publishedDate><doi>10.1186/s40798-025-00829-6</doi><url>https://doi.org/10.1186/s40798-025-00829-6</url><notes/><college>COLLEGE NANME</college><department>Engineering and Applied Sciences School</department><CollegeCode>COLLEGE CODE</CollegeCode><DepartmentCode>EAAS</DepartmentCode><institution>Swansea University</institution><apcterm/><funders>No funding was received for the completion of this scoping review</funders><projectreference/><lastEdited>2025-03-21T10:58:25.4431180</lastEdited><Created>2025-03-21T10:55:03.5109036</Created><path><level id="1">Faculty of Science and Engineering</level><level id="2">School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Sport and Exercise Sciences</level></path><authors><author><firstname>Kathryn L.</firstname><surname>Weston</surname><orcid>0000-0001-5918-6389</orcid><order>1</order></author><author><firstname>Jonathan P.</firstname><surname>Little</surname><orcid>0000-0002-9796-2008</orcid><order>2</order></author><author><firstname>Matthew</firstname><surname>Weston</surname><order>3</order></author><author><firstname>Sara</firstname><surname>McCreary</surname><order>4</order></author><author><firstname>Vanessa</firstname><surname>Kitchin</surname><orcid>0000-0002-5234-2681</orcid><order>5</order></author><author><firstname>Amrit</firstname><surname>Gill</surname><order>6</order></author><author><firstname>Ailsa</firstname><surname>Niven</surname><orcid>0000-0002-4118-7460</orcid><order>7</order></author><author><firstname>Melitta</firstname><surname>McNarry</surname><orcid>0000-0003-0813-7477</orcid><order>8</order></author><author><firstname>Kelly</firstname><surname>Mackintosh</surname><orcid>0000-0003-0355-6357</orcid><order>9</order></author></authors><documents/><OutputDurs/></rfc1807>
spelling 2025-03-21T10:58:25.4431180 v2 69133 2025-03-21 Application of Exercise Snacks across Youth, Adult and Clinical Populations: A Scoping Review 858a624ceda35dcced1a29cd2798f676 Matthew Weston Matthew Weston true false 062f5697ff59f004bc8c713955988398 0000-0003-0813-7477 Melitta McNarry Melitta McNarry true false bdb20e3f31bcccf95c7bc116070c4214 0000-0003-0355-6357 Kelly Mackintosh Kelly Mackintosh true false 2025-03-21 EAAS BackgroundInterest in ‘exercise snacks’ has increased, yet a comprehensive and holistic review of this novel concept is lacking. We aimed to map global research on ‘exercise snacks’, across youth, adult and clinical populations through a scoping review.MethodsA systematic search was conducted in six databases. Grey literature searches were also conducted. Studies whereby participants were prescribed a structured bout of intense exercise dispersed across the day, or the exercise was explicitly defined as a form of ‘snacks’, in any setting were included. We used the Consensus on Exercise Reporting Template (CERT) to assess the completeness of exercise descriptions. Data were recorded into spreadsheets, then descriptively analyzed and summarized in graphic form.ResultsThe 45 publications meeting our inclusion criteria represented 33 original studies. These 33 studies enrolled a total of 1118 participants, with a median sample size of 24. Studies were categorized as either acute (n = 12) or chronic (n = 21) trials with both trial types performed across a wide range of participant ages (range 8.7 to 78 years) but mostly conducted on healthy adults and older adults. The majority of studies (20/33) defined the concept as ‘exercise snacks’, with study context being predominantly the laboratory or home. A wide variety of exercise modes (e.g., cycling, stair climbing, body weight exercises) and comparator conditions (e.g., moderate intensity continuous exercise, prolonged sitting, non-exercise controls) were used. ‘Exercise snack’ intensity was prescribed more frequently than it was reported, and, of the available data, mean intensity was estimated at 76.9% of maximal heart rate and 5.2 Arbitrary Units (AU) on the Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE) CR10 scale. Study outcome measures were predominantly cardiovascular, metabolic, muscular, and psychological, with studies mostly adhering to the CERT, though there was underreporting of detail for the exercise provider, motivation strategies, adverse events and intervention fidelity.ConclusionThe ‘exercise snack’ concept is being increasingly used to cover an array of exercise models. The most common protocols to date utilize body weight exercises or stair climbing. We recommend ‘exercise snacks’ terminology is consistently used to describe protocols whereby short, purposeful structured exercise is dispersed throughout the day. Future studies should provide detailed descriptions of their ‘exercise snacks’ model, through exercise and adverse event reporting checklists. Journal Article Sports Medicine - Open 11 1 Springer Science and Business Media LLC 2198-9761 18 3 2025 2025-03-18 10.1186/s40798-025-00829-6 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40798-025-00829-6 COLLEGE NANME Engineering and Applied Sciences School COLLEGE CODE EAAS Swansea University No funding was received for the completion of this scoping review 2025-03-21T10:58:25.4431180 2025-03-21T10:55:03.5109036 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Sport and Exercise Sciences Kathryn L. Weston 0000-0001-5918-6389 1 Jonathan P. Little 0000-0002-9796-2008 2 Matthew Weston 3 Sara McCreary 4 Vanessa Kitchin 0000-0002-5234-2681 5 Amrit Gill 6 Ailsa Niven 0000-0002-4118-7460 7 Melitta McNarry 0000-0003-0813-7477 8 Kelly Mackintosh 0000-0003-0355-6357 9
title Application of Exercise Snacks across Youth, Adult and Clinical Populations: A Scoping Review
spellingShingle Application of Exercise Snacks across Youth, Adult and Clinical Populations: A Scoping Review
Matthew Weston
Melitta McNarry
Kelly Mackintosh
title_short Application of Exercise Snacks across Youth, Adult and Clinical Populations: A Scoping Review
title_full Application of Exercise Snacks across Youth, Adult and Clinical Populations: A Scoping Review
title_fullStr Application of Exercise Snacks across Youth, Adult and Clinical Populations: A Scoping Review
title_full_unstemmed Application of Exercise Snacks across Youth, Adult and Clinical Populations: A Scoping Review
title_sort Application of Exercise Snacks across Youth, Adult and Clinical Populations: A Scoping Review
author_id_str_mv 858a624ceda35dcced1a29cd2798f676
062f5697ff59f004bc8c713955988398
bdb20e3f31bcccf95c7bc116070c4214
author_id_fullname_str_mv 858a624ceda35dcced1a29cd2798f676_***_Matthew Weston
062f5697ff59f004bc8c713955988398_***_Melitta McNarry
bdb20e3f31bcccf95c7bc116070c4214_***_Kelly Mackintosh
author Matthew Weston
Melitta McNarry
Kelly Mackintosh
author2 Kathryn L. Weston
Jonathan P. Little
Matthew Weston
Sara McCreary
Vanessa Kitchin
Amrit Gill
Ailsa Niven
Melitta McNarry
Kelly Mackintosh
format Journal article
container_title Sports Medicine - Open
container_volume 11
container_issue 1
publishDate 2025
institution Swansea University
issn 2198-9761
doi_str_mv 10.1186/s40798-025-00829-6
publisher Springer Science and Business Media LLC
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Sport and Exercise Sciences{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Sport and Exercise Sciences
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s40798-025-00829-6
document_store_str 0
active_str 0
description BackgroundInterest in ‘exercise snacks’ has increased, yet a comprehensive and holistic review of this novel concept is lacking. We aimed to map global research on ‘exercise snacks’, across youth, adult and clinical populations through a scoping review.MethodsA systematic search was conducted in six databases. Grey literature searches were also conducted. Studies whereby participants were prescribed a structured bout of intense exercise dispersed across the day, or the exercise was explicitly defined as a form of ‘snacks’, in any setting were included. We used the Consensus on Exercise Reporting Template (CERT) to assess the completeness of exercise descriptions. Data were recorded into spreadsheets, then descriptively analyzed and summarized in graphic form.ResultsThe 45 publications meeting our inclusion criteria represented 33 original studies. These 33 studies enrolled a total of 1118 participants, with a median sample size of 24. Studies were categorized as either acute (n = 12) or chronic (n = 21) trials with both trial types performed across a wide range of participant ages (range 8.7 to 78 years) but mostly conducted on healthy adults and older adults. The majority of studies (20/33) defined the concept as ‘exercise snacks’, with study context being predominantly the laboratory or home. A wide variety of exercise modes (e.g., cycling, stair climbing, body weight exercises) and comparator conditions (e.g., moderate intensity continuous exercise, prolonged sitting, non-exercise controls) were used. ‘Exercise snack’ intensity was prescribed more frequently than it was reported, and, of the available data, mean intensity was estimated at 76.9% of maximal heart rate and 5.2 Arbitrary Units (AU) on the Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE) CR10 scale. Study outcome measures were predominantly cardiovascular, metabolic, muscular, and psychological, with studies mostly adhering to the CERT, though there was underreporting of detail for the exercise provider, motivation strategies, adverse events and intervention fidelity.ConclusionThe ‘exercise snack’ concept is being increasingly used to cover an array of exercise models. The most common protocols to date utilize body weight exercises or stair climbing. We recommend ‘exercise snacks’ terminology is consistently used to describe protocols whereby short, purposeful structured exercise is dispersed throughout the day. Future studies should provide detailed descriptions of their ‘exercise snacks’ model, through exercise and adverse event reporting checklists.
published_date 2025-03-18T08:23:07Z
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