Mental health among Chilean university students has steadily deteriorated since 2020. One of the factors associated with mental health is the academic workload that comes with transitioning from high school to higher education, which may lead to an increase in stress levels due to university life referred to as academic stress. Academic stress has been linked to multiple negative outcomes in university students, such as a lower quality of life, as well as cardiovascular risk markers, including body composition (e.g., higher fat percentage), muscle function, aerobic capacity, and physical activity levels. Academic stress affecting more than 50% of university students represents a health issue that needs to be addressed, not only because it can lead to chronic stress, but also because it increases cardiovascular risk in a Chilean population where more than 10,000,000 people are overweight, obese, or have insufficient physical activity levels.
Academic stress and its associated complications represent a prevalent health issue among university students. It is essential to implement interventions that help reduce academic stress while also counteracting its negative effects on quality of life, body composition, muscle function, aerobic capacity, and physical activity levels.
Cost-effective tools, both in terms of financial resources and time, are needed. From this perspective, physical exercise meets both requirements, as it is inexpensive to implement and there are various protocols such as high-intensity interval training and "exercise snacks" that can require less than 40 minutes per week while providing beneficial effects on academic stress, body composition muscle function, aerobic capacity, and physical activity levels in university students.
Expanding the body of evidence on these different training protocols would allow us to address multiple issues simultaneously. The primary one is academic stress and its related consequences, but also to generate new evidence on aspects not yet covered in the current literature, such as the impact on university students' quality of life, and to provide an accessible treatment tool for the future. Importantly, implementing these short-duration programs would also enable students to maintain their academic responsibilities, as the proposed protocols require no more than 40 minutes per week (\<10 minutes per day). Finally, these programs could be implemented within university facilities, which, in the long term, could become a permanent tool for improving students' university experience.
University students from the 1st to 4th year at the Metropolitan University of Education Sciences and Silva-Henriquez Catholic University
High level of physical activity classification in the GPAQ questionnaire.
Musculoskeletal conditions that prevent normal physical activity.
Cardiac disease that contraindicates high-intensity exercise.
Diagnosed mental health condition.
Parallel
High-Intensity Interval Training
BehavioralThe high-intensity interval training (HIIT) protocol will run for 12 weeks, with two weekly sessions, totaling 24 sessions. Each 20-minute session will follow a group-based circuit format with functional exercises (e.g., jogging, jumping jacks, step-ups). High-intensity phases will be performed at maximum effort, while moderate-intensity phases will be maintained at a Borg scale rating of 4-6. Training will amount to 40 minutes per week. The intensity ratio will progress over time: * Weeks 1-4: 15 sec high / 60 sec moderate (1:4) * Weeks 5-8: 15 sec high / 45 sec moderate (1:3) * Weeks 9-12: 15 sec high / 30 sec moderate (1:2) * Weeks 13-16: 15 sec high / 15 sec moderate (1:1) This progressive structure ensures gradual adaptation while maximizing effectiveness.
Exercise Snacks Protocol
BehavioralThe exercise snack protocol will last for 12 weeks, with sessions held twice a week, totaling 24 sessions. The exercise snacks will amount to 40 minutes per week, divided across the five weekdays. Participants will be required to perform 4 minutes of functional exercises (e.g., jogging in place, jumping jacks in place, modified burpees in place, etc.) in both the morning (AM) and evening (PM), completing a total of 8 minutes per day. The exercises must be performed at high intensity, with a score of \>8 on a modified Borg scale.
Academic Stress Levels
It will be measured using the SISCO II questionnaire, validated in the Chilean population, with items rated on a Likert scale from 1 to 5. The questionnaire consists of five dimensions: stressors, physical and psychological reactions, social behavior reactions, coping strategies, and total reaction.
Quality of Life Levels
It will be measured using the SF-36 questionnaire, which assesses eight dimensions: physical function, physical role, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social function, emotional role, and mental health. Scores are obtained through a Likert-type scale, which must be transformed to a 0-100 scale, where 0 represents the worst performance and 100 the best. The questionnaire has been validated in Spanish-speaking populations.
Physical Activity Levels
The Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) assesses physical activity across three domains: work-related activity, transportation activity, and recreational activity. It also includes a section on sedentary behavior. The questionnaire measures the frequency and duration of moderate and vigorous physical activity in each domain, providing a comprehensive overview of an individual's physical activity levels. In the Chilean population, the GPAQ has been validated, with studies confirming its reliability in national health surveys.
Sedentary Behaviour Levels
The Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) assesses physical activity across three domains: work-related activity, transportation activity, and recreational activity. It also includes a section on sedentary behavior. The questionnaire measures the frequency and duration of moderate and vigorous physical activity in each domain, providing a comprehensive overview of an individual's physical activity levels. In the Chilean population, the GPAQ has been validated, with studies confirming its reliability in national health surveys. Additionally, research has shown that the single-question measure of sedentary behavior within the GPAQ is a valid tool for assessing sedentary time in Chilean adults.
Upper Body Muscle Strength
A 10RM test will be conducted to assess upper limb strength (bench press). The Epley formula will be used to estimate 1RM from the 10RM test.
Map coordinates are unavailable for these locations. Locations are shown below instead.
ChileClick on the lead sponsor to view all of their trials.
This trial is not recruiting at the moment. You can still explore other options:
