PMID 27486660

Research
All papers

Effect of Novel, School-Based High-Intensity Interval Training (HIT) on Cardiometabolic Health in Adolescents: Project FFAB (Fun Fast Activity Blasts) - An Exploratory Controlled Before-And-After Trial

Weston KL, Azevedo LB, Bock S, Weston M, George KP, Batterham AM

Question

What is the effect of a school-based multi-activity low-volume HIT intervention on cardiometabolic risk factors and physical activity in adolescents?

Summary

Project FFAB tested a school-based, multi-activity low-volume HIT program in 14-year-old adolescents. The non-randomized intervention produced likely beneficial effects for triglycerides, waist circumference, and daily MVPA, and a possibly beneficial effect for shuttle-run performance, with 77% attendance among completers.

Methodology

  • Year 9 adolescents from four secondary schools in Northeast England.
  • 101 participants.
  • Basketball, boxing, dance, and soccer drills.
  • Work intervals: 45 s.
  • Recovery: 90 s.
  • Intensity: Maximal effort; target peak HR >=90% HRmax.
  • About 15-20 min including warm-up/cooldown.
  • 3 sessions/week.
  • 10 weeks.
  • Exploratory controlled before-and-after clustered non-randomized trial.
  • Triglycerides, Waist circumference, Daily MVPA, and 20 m shuttle-run performance were tracked.

Outcomes

Triglycerides

Intervention had a likely beneficial effect on triglycerides compared with control.

-26%, 90% CI -46% to 0%.

Improved

Waist circumference

Waist circumference improved in intervention participants compared with controls.

-3.9 cm, 90% CI -6.1 to -1.6.

Improved

Daily MVPA

Daily MVPA showed a likely beneficial increase.

+16 min/day, 90% CI -5 to 38.

Improved

20 m shuttle-run

Shuttle-run performance had a possibly beneficial effect.

+5 shuttles, 90% CI -1 to 11.

Improved

Other cardiometabolic/body-composition outcomes

No clinically substantial effects were reported for BP, TC, HDL, glucose, hsCRP, cIMT, body fat, SMM, weight, BMI, or DBP.

No clear change

Insights

  • Youth HIT can be built from sports and dance drills rather than repetitive running.
  • School programs need intensity monitoring alternatives when HR equipment is limited.
  • Low-volume school sessions can be inserted into PE/lunch/after-school windows.

Limitations

  • Non-randomized school allocation
  • Only four schools
  • Exploratory design
  • Intervention sex imbalance
  • Incomplete HR monitoring
  • No long-term follow-up

Safety

  • Two male participants sustained injuries unrelated to the study and stopped completing HIT sessions.
  • No study-related injury signal was reported.