FOCUS ON FITNESS
HIGH-INTENSITY INCIDENTAL
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
By Jennifer Van Pelt, MA
Updated US Department of Health and Human Services
Physical Activity Guidelines, published in November 2018,
substantially changed physical activity recommendations by
eliminating the minimum time requirement of at least 10 min-
utes per session. Key messaging now focuses on “something
is better than nothing,” which should more effectively encour-
age sedentary individuals to become more active.^1 Following
this guideline release, international researchers from Austra-
lia, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Norway published an
editorial promoting high-intensity incidental physical activity
(HIIPA) as a new public health and clinical strategy to increase
daily activity in sedentary, overweight, and obese individuals.
These researchers define incidental physical activity as “any
activity that is part of one’s daily living that is not done with
the purpose of recreation or health and requires no sacrifice
of discretionary time.” Such activities would include climb-
ing stairs, walking from car to store, carrying groceries, and
cleaning; it wouldn’t include a planned exercise session, such
as walking on a treadmill or taking a fitness class.^2
The concept of HIIPA was introduced within the last year,
emerging from international research into incidental physical
activity benefits and recent research supporting the benefits of
short high-intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions for indi-
viduals of any fitness level—from deconditioned beginners to
professional athletes. While HIIPA is a new concept for improv-
ing health, incidental physical activity isn’t. For more than 20
years, researchers have been studying the role of inciden-
tal physical activity in improving heart health and losing and
managing body weight, especially for individuals who don’t or
can’t exercise for various reasons. HIIPA involves doing those
incidental daily activities at a high enough intensity to raise the
heart and breathing rate, similar to that which occurs during a
HIIT workout. According to the international researchers pro-
moting HIIPA, increasing the intensity of incidental physical
activity so that one is “huffing and puffing” for even just a few
seconds can provide health benefits.
Another key benefit is that HIIPA requires no additional
time during the day as a planned exercise session does. In a
press release announcing the publication of their scientific
editorial on HIIPA, lead researcher Emmanual Stamatakis,
PhD, a professor of physical activity, lifestyle, and popula-
tion health in Australia’s University of Sydney Charles Perkins
Centre and School of Public Health, states, “We know from
several large studies of middle-aged and older adults that
doing vigorous exercise has great long-term health benefits,
but many people find it very difficult to start and stick to an
exercise program. The beauty of HIIPA and the idea of using
activities we are already doing as part of everyday life is that
it is much more realistic and achievable for most people.”^3
Because individuals are already performing incidental physi-
cal activity throughout their day, there are none of the barri-
ers that typically prevent regular planned exercise, such as
lack of time, costs of gym memberships and home exercise
equipment, self-consciousness when exercising in public,
lower level of fitness, and lack of commitment.^2
Published research on HIIT shows that it effectively and
rapidly improves fitness and heart health—and high-inten-
sity activity doesn’t need to be high impact or include heavy
weightlifting. What is considered high-intensity varies with
the individual, their fitness level, age, and weight. So, an over-
weight, deconditioned older adult significantly can increase
intensity of incidental physical activity simply by moving a bit
faster when walking or cleaning. Short bursts of more intense
activity (seconds to a minute) throughout the day easily add up
for HIIPA. In their editorial, Stamatakis and his colleagues sug-
gest that three to five short HIIPA sessions totaling only five to
10 minutes daily, performed on most days of the week, could
provide significant health benefits for sedentary individuals.^2Advice for Clients
HIIPA is easily integrated into most sedentary lifestyles.
Start with an assessment of daily activity, making sure not to
inadvertently exclude opportunities. For example, even walk-
ing down the driveway to pick up a morning newspaper or the
mail can be turned into a HIIPA session. Asking clients to make
a list of every time they move during the day, including driving
trips, rather than a list of their physical activities, will help cap-
ture the most opportunities for integrating HIIPA. Clients may
not accurately list all of their daily movements if they associate
the phrase “physical activity” with “exercise.”
Although the concept of HIIPA was only recently intro-
duced, and the updated guidelines only reduced the time50 today’s dietitian august 2019