Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40569418›Full record

ReviewEuropean journal of applied physiology2025

Beyond FITT: addressing density in understanding the dose-response relationships of physical activity with health-an example based on brain health.

Fabian Herold, Liye Zou, Paula Theobald, Patrick Manser, Ryan S Falck, Qian Yu, Teresa Liu-Ambrose, Arthur F Kramer, Kirk I Erickson, Boris Cheval and 17 more

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in European journal of applied physiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

27 authors.

Fabian HeroldDepartment of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, HMU Health and Medical University Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany.
Liye ZouBody-Brain-Mind Laboratory, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
Paula TheobaldResearch Group Degenerative and Chronic Diseases, Movement, Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
Patrick ManserMotor Control and Learning Group, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Institute of Human Movement Sciences and Sport, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Ryan S FalckSchool of Biomedical Engineering, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Qian YuBody-Brain-Mind Laboratory, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
Teresa Liu-AmbroseAging, Mobility, and Cognitive Health Laboratory, Department of Physical Therapy, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Arthur F KramerCenter for Cognitive and Brain Health, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.
Kirk I EricksonDepartment of Neuroscience, AdventHealth Research Institute, AdventHealth, Orlando, FL, USA.
Boris ChevalDepartment of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, Ecole Normale Supérieure Rennes, Bruz, France.
Yanxia ChenBody-Brain-Mind Laboratory, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
Matthew HeathSchool of Kinesiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A 3K7, Canada.
Zhihao ZhangBody-Brain-Mind Laboratory, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
Toru IshiharaGraduate School of Human Development and Environment, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan.
Keita KamijoFaculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Chukyo University, Nagoya, Japan.
Soichi AndoGraduate School of Informatics and Engineering, The University of Electro-Communications, Tokyo, Japan.
Joseph T CostelloExtreme Environments Laboratory, School of Psychology, Sport and Health Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK.
Mats HallgrenEpidemiology of Psychiatric Conditions, Substance Use and Social Environment (EPiCSS), Department of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institute, Solna, Sweden.
David MoreauSchool of Psychology and Centre for Brain Research, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Vahid FarrahiInstitute for Sport and Sport Science, TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany.
David A RaichlenHuman and Evolutionary Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA.
Emmanuel StamatakisMackenzie Wearables Research Hub, Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Michael J WheelerInstitute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.
Neville OwenPhysical Activity Laboratory, Baker Heart & Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Sebastian LudygaDepartment of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Henning BuddeInstitute for Systems Medicine (ISM), MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
Thomas GronwaldInstitute of Interdisciplinary Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Am Kaiserkai 1, 20457, Hamburg, Germany. Thomas.Gronwald@medicalschool-hamburg.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5610-6013

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Research on physical activity (PA) and health has a fundamental concern with dose-response relationships. The variables of (1) Frequency, (2) Intensity, (3) Time, and (4) Type (i.e., the FITT principle) have traditionally been used to operationalize the dosage of PA. We consider some limitations of FITT and propose that it can be complemented by the additional variable density (from the German exercise and training variable Belastungsdichte), which can be defined as the timing of successive work bouts within a single PA bout as well as the timing between successive PA bouts within a specific time period; it does so by quantifying the temporal intervals between successive work or PA bouts (i.e., time spent at a lower PA intensity or resting such as in napping/sleeping or sedentary behaviors). Using the field of PA and brain health as an example, we discuss the opportunities and challenges for further research employing the variable density and consider its potential to improve the understanding of dose-response relationships between PA and health outcomes.

Indexed as

BrainExerciseHumansBrainCognitionDosePhysical exerciseSedentary behavior

Identifiers

PMID40569418
PMCPMC12479724

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.